The Serial Complainers of Scottish Football: Why Rangers Can’t Stop Playing the Victim
The hard truth behind Rangers’ playing their latest victim card after Celtic knock them out of the League Cup.
For some time now, Rangers have perfected the art of deflection. With their performances on the pitch sputtering and fan unrest against the board increasing, the Rangers hierarchy have found a convenient rodent to chase - the so-called “conspiracy” surrounding the failure to show a red card to Auston Trusty during the recent League Cup semi final against with Celtic after the defender appeared to kick goalkeeper Jack Butland in the head.
The Trusty-Butland contact - a mere tap of the side of Trusty’s boot on Butland’s head after the defender went for a loose ball - has become the latest in a long line of manufactured grievances, trotted out to ignite fan fury and distract from more pressing problems on and off the field. But a closer examination reveals a far more nuanced and less damning picture.
The Trusty Incident: A Yellow Card, Not a Red
The incident in question saw Celtic’s Auston Trusty caught on camera making contact with Jack Butland’s head with his boot. While Rangers branded it as a ‘blatant strike,’ the facts show otherwise. The referee, Nick Walsh, rightly awarded a yellow card, and VAR upheld that decision. There was no force, no malice, no injury - Butland was unhurt. Trusty’s action was more a tap than a studs-up lunge. Even the Scottish FA’s referee chief Willie Collum has publicly supported the yellow card decision after thorough review.
Contrast this with past refereeing decisions. Not long ago, former Celtic keeper Joe Hart suffered a shocking studs-up challenge from Steven Fletcher, involving significant contact and injury (Hart required stitches). Yet Fletcher only received a yellow. No precedent was broken here. Rangers’ current outrage over Trusty’s soft yellow card holds little water when placed in this broader context.
Rangers Desperate to Cling to the Victim Role
Two weeks on from their defeat by Celtic, Rangers remain consumed by this narrative of injustice. Their hierarchy is still crying foul, spinning this yellow card as a dangerous precedent, as if the Scottish game will be ruined overnight and goalkeepers seriously injured - Rangers should know all about that though, ask the Rangers fans who unfurl the Sam English flag at games regularly. Their “hard done by” victim act is beyond tired. Since the demise of the original Rangers in 2012 and the rise of this newer, spoiled, and seemingly serially complaining iteration, the club has adopted a predictable pattern of whining, conspiracy theories, and delusions of grandeur.
This is a club and a fan base that has for years been serial whingers, always hunting for excuses to gloss over its own failings - be it dodgy tax practices, questionable player payments, or subpar performances on the pitch. Their latest ploy with the Trusty-Butland saga follows the same script: create outrage over a marginal incident, distract fans, and divert scrutiny from their shortcomings.
The Dodgy Decisions Rangers Ignore
It is worth highlighting other conspicuous decisions in the same match or recent fixtures that Rangers refuse to talk about because they don’t fit their narrative. Rangers benefited from a dubious penalty in the second half - an award that was questionable at best. You will also recall Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate being clearly bundled over in the Rangers box with no call given. The VAR team, led by Steven McLean and Andrew Dallas, chose not to intervene. This clear penalty omission didn’t even make it into the Scottish FA’s Key Match Incidents report, reflecting a concerning double standard. Then there is the disgusting and out of control ankle breaking tackle of Derek Cornelius on Celtic striker Johnny Kenny - what should have been a second red card for Rangers was only given as a yellow.
Moreover, a legitimate Celtic goal scored after a deflection off Rangers midfielder Niko Raskin was wrongly ruled out for offside - a decision traced to incorrectly drawn lines by Brothers McLean and Dallas in the VAR room and drawing the lines at the player receiving the ball rather than playing the pass. The error was blatant, depriving Celtic of their opening goal - which eventually came minutes later - a crucial moment that could have changed the game’s complexion entirely as Celtic would have been 2-0 up at half time and facing a nine man Rangers side.
Rangers’ Own Disciplinary Troubles
If Rangers want to talk about rough tackles worthy of sanctions, they only need point to their own squad. Thelo Aasgaard’s reckless studs-up challenge on Celtic’s Anthony Ralston, aimed high at the upper thigh region. Such dangerous play rightly saw Aasgaard sent off and reduced Rangers to ten men. Or that Diomande seems to be given a free pass to do anything he likes including a forearm smash on the back of Reo Hatate’s head in a previous derby clash - which could have caused serious and lasting health issues. Escaping censure for it in the process.
That Rangers seek to portray themselves as the aggrieved party is galling when their own discipline on the pitch contributes to their troubles more than any perceived bias on the part of the match officials - one of whom [Andrew Dallas] prior to the introduction of VAR awarded Rangers FOUR penalties in ONE game. Three of them dubious to say the least. Even the Nazis in Escape to Victory only managed to get TWO!
Since VAR has been introduced, Rangers are now being held to a different standard than they were before. They are being held to the same standard of refereeing as the rest of Scottish Football - and that’s what they don’t like. After all what other club has ex-Referees tour their lodges and supporters clubs giving After Dinner Speeches boasting about the time they screwed Celtic over? Certainly not Celtic.
No Sympathy for the Serial Complainers
What is truly remarkable is how low this club has sunk in terms of behaviour on and off the park as well as their footballing standards. Now that they aren’t knee-deep in dodging taxes or funnelling wages under the table to players far beyond their actual financial means, they are no longer dominating the league, their Napoleon complex kicks in and they are now too busy playing the victim and stirring up divisive narratives to rally their rabid fanbase.
The Trusty-Butland saga is a classic example: a minor, fairly judged on-field incident blown wildly out of proportion and wielded as a stick to beat Scottish football authorities and Celtic alike - fuelled by their fans on social media and their media lapdogs. Rangers should instead look inward and focus on improving performances and professionalism on and off the pitch rather than spinning conspiracy theories and playing the forgotten victim.
This saga is yet another sad chapter in a club that has well and truly nailed the crown of Scottish football’s perennial complainer to their own head. It’s high time Rangers took responsibility for their own failings and stopped manufacturing distractions like the Trusty incident to deflect from what really matters: delivering on the pitch and winning silverware.
Rangers Fans are clearly gullible enough to be distracted by these tired tactics much to the delight of the beleaguered Rangers board. But when the smokescreen lifts, reality will once again hit them like a kick in the teeth - Rangers always seems to lose when it matters most. Maybe they should start doing their talking on the pitch next time.