Tony Docherty demands rule change after what happened in Rangers 5-0 win v Dundee

Tony Docherty, the manager of Dundee, has demanded a rule change following a contentious incident that occurred during his team’s 5-0 loss to Rangers on Wednesday.

Ryan Jack, Danilo, Sam Lammers, Cyriel Dessers, and James Tavernier all scored goals for the Gers during their outstanding display. However, the goal by Dessers to make it 4-0 was surrounded by controversy because the referee impeded a Dundee player during the build-up but chose not to stop the game.

 

Lammers continued to play Dessers, who slotted it past the goalkeeper. Docherty, speaking to Sky Sports on November 1, described the goal as “one of the most bizarre” he had ever seen and said he couldn’t understand why there wasn’t a rule in place to address situations like that.

“Absolutely and I don’t understand why there can’t be a rule for that,” he said.

“If that’s a Rangers player who has impeded our player, you know the referee has actually fouled our player. And because of the player’s reactions they actually run through and score.

“It’s one of the most bizarre goals I’ve ever seen and the explanation I got for it even more bizarre.

“It’s not the reason we got beat but it certainly did exacerbate things, and I just don’t understand why there isn’t a law against that.”

Funny

It’s funny being on this side of the incident because as Docherty himself admitted, it didn’t really effect the result on the day too much as were by far the better team.

But if that had happened against us in an Old Firm derby with the game level, then we would be absolutely furious and rightly so.

Though it’s absurd to hear that he didn’t come into contact with the ball at all, even though he obviously prevented the Dundee player from getting to it, credit goes to Dundee for not using it as an excuse.

Even though these situations are extremely rare, the regulators must begin using common sense in these situations because, if they aren’t fixed right away, they could have a significant impact on events down the road.

If the official had blown the whistle to end the game and awarded them possession or a drop ball to challenge for possession, no one would have even looked twice and it would have already been forgotten. Rather, it’s the day’s story.