And here it is. The latest dispatch from Planet Dignity. Where every defeat to Celtic is swiftly followed by a statement longer than anything issued by the royalist formerly known as Prince, and twice as self-pitying…
“The handling of key incidents during Sunday’s semi-final has again raised legitimate concerns about the consistency of refereeing in Scottish football.
Club representatives met with the Scottish FA this evening to seek explanations for major decisions in the match, including the incident involving Jack Butland and Auston Trusty.
Following that meeting, we remain unsatisfied with the explanation of the referee’s decision in that incident, the application of the Laws of the Game, and the VAR review itself, which we do not believe was sufficiently robust or thorough.
We recognise that refereeing decisions can impact both sides in a game, but too many important matches continue to be influenced by calls that are inconsistent and difficult to justify. These decisions have real consequences, determining results, impacting fans, and affecting the livelihoods of players, coaches and staff whose work is judged by outcomes on the pitch.
Club Statement
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) November 3, 2025
The club has consistently raised issues as they have occurred with the Scottish FA, but we do not feel there has been enough change in how refereeing is being developed at the highest level.
We understand and share the anger among our supporters, who have grown frustrated at the repeated inconsistencies in major match decisions that continue to affect the club.
For the benefit of our supporters and the wider game in the country, we will continue to hold the Scottish FA to account and expect them to lead meaningful progress that delivers lasting improvement.”
In other news, Jack Butland is recovering well from his facial reconstruction surgery. pic.twitter.com/P1ibPuPxjH
— Luthers Volvo. (@luthersvolvo) November 4, 2025
Justice for Jack. Day Three of the Great Goalkeeper Grievance…
Poor Butland, the man who survived the vicious assault of Auston Trusty’s wayward temple breeze. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or as the sane call it, a wee tap on the heid.
It wouldn’t be theRangers, either of them, without this ritual. The game ends, the tears dry, and then—bang!—the statement drops like an anvil on Wile E Coyote’s napper. Sorry, too soon Jack?
Trusty barely brushed him. There was about as much weight behind it as a hump with Victoria Beckham. Reckless? Aye, that’s fine. Endangering? Only if Butland’s skull was made of Angel Delight.
You might even feel a flicker of sympathy for the Ibrox men if they hadn’t once appealed a four-game UEFA ban for Kemar Roofe, the same Roofe who left a Czech keeper with a fractured skull and a permanent fear of Riverdance.
UEFA called it a “dangerous assault.” Rangers called it “severe.” Somewhere between those two lies the club’s moral compass, spinning like a playpark roundabout in a gale.
Rangers appealed the red card given to Roofe after he fractured the Slavia Prague goalkeepers skull ! #AlwaysCheatedNeverDefeated pic.twitter.com/hWXfCFOSIB
— 🍀 67 Pins ⭐️ (@67_pins) November 3, 2025
The new American owners were supposed to bring a breath of professionalism, less paranoia, more purpose. Instead, we get more of the same, grievance as gospel. They hired a vegan manager, talked of culture change, then watched the travelling hordes gnash their teeth in hotel lobbies across Europe and thought, better keep them sweet. Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss. Only these guys wear sandals.
And the fans lap it up, of course. Every 50/50 decision becomes a chalk outline. The Trusty incident could have gone either way, sure, but it wasn’t a scandal, it wasn’t a conspiracy, it was just football, contact sport, spherical object, grown men in shorts and a wee bit of subjective opinion.
Yet they fixate on that one call, ignoring the handful that went their way, the dubious penalty, the coin flip red for Cornelius that landed on ‘heads’, sorry Jack, too soon? The Celtic penalty claim that’s been completely ignored when Reo Hatate was barged inside the six yard box. Or all those soft free kicks that stopped Celtic’s counterattacks dead. But that doesn’t fit the narrative, does it?
‘Accent and emphasis’ of nothing incidents like two players pulling at one another on the edge of the box or stupid things like below, is the name of the game.
Then you ignore, and the media ignore, incidents like this clear penalty for Celtic involving Hatate. https://t.co/Kj44WnsMvL pic.twitter.com/t6Uv2Vub2J
— Lint (@Zeshankenzo) November 4, 2025
Because in Ibrox logic, there’s only one possible explanation for losing, bias, betrayal, and VAR bent by dark forces from the East End.
It’s become their coping mechanism, defeat by statement, humiliation by communique. They can’t process the reality that in nearly a decade back in the top flight, they’ve only managed to collect three trophies despite a revolving door of double that figure in managers. It’s not incompetence, it’s a conspiracy. It’s not crap football, it’s a fix.
Foreign refs, they cry now. “Bring in the Europeans!” As long as they’re not of ‘fighting age’ and don’t cross the channel on small boats of course.
Like the ref against Kiev, who was apparently under a UEFA directive to keep a Ukrainian team in the competition, cos of the war and all that, a conspiracy that seemingly extended to the United Nations. Or Bilbao, when Dessers was denied a second leg penalty, cos the ref was under instruction to let Bilbao reach the final…because…Bilbao was hosting the final. Those foreign refs?
The paranoia is the point. It keeps the hordes believing that they’re still the wronged heroes of some grand myth, not just a team that’s best described as being Michael Fish for most of a decade.
So here we are again, another November, another dignified meltdown. Jack Butland’s skull intact, theRangers’ ego bruised, and the rest of us left sighing at the sheer front of it all. It’s enough to make your head hurt. Actually hurt Jack.
Justice for Jack? Aye, nae bother, but maybe first, a wee dose of self-awareness for the rest of them.
Niall J
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Just a correction here. You mention, “after a decade of being back in the top flight”. This club has only been in the top flight once. They are a new club. Never let them forget that
Great spot Dee. You wouldn’t believe the correspondence I receive for continually referring to them as theRangers…
Always amazes just how thick the Hun zombie remains, well maybe not. That a conspiracy against them remains, and somehow we benefit from the likes?
It’s nothing more than horses shite, which makes a complete farce for the Scottish game overall.
Even a blind person could see that a cheating mib had a massive impact upon how we wanted, and would have liked to play the game. Yet we are somehow meant to have benefited, despite the amount of decisions going against ourselves with blatant cheating involved?
We had way more grievances on show, that deserves a far better explanation for the likes.
No way should cheating mibs be allowed to dictate the Scottish game, and remains a massive stain upon the Scottish FA, for keeping the likes intact within the Scottish game.
We were meant to be paranoid years ago, with calling the likes out, and got the so called “Honest mistakes” bullshit as a result.
Now even with VAR in place, there is still not a satisfactory resolution to a massive factor within the Scottish game still.
I can understand interpretation of incidents been mixed at times, yet will never understand how blatant cheating of rules not getting applied whatsoever.
How many VAR checks are in place, during nearly every other game we are involved within during SPFL matches?
Compare that to the amount totally ignored on Sunday.
If the thick hun zombie had enough fingers and able to count, then there paranoia might reduce somewhat?
Wishful thinking moreso.