JOHN SOUTTAR’s handball incident has received a unanimous verdict from several former Rangers stars.
Philippe Clement’s men were dealt a sucker punch on the stroke of half-time at the Estádio da Luz, despite taking the lead early doors through Tom Lawrence.
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The ball struck the arm of the former Hearts defender in the Rangers box and Benfica were awarded a penalty, which Angel Di Maria tucked away.
It proved to be a pivotal moment in the match as it ended in a 2-2 stalemate.
Benfica had never lost a Europa League match on their own patch, but that could all have changed if the controversial spot-kick was never awarded.
And ex-Light Blues striker Kenny Miller feels his former team were hard done by as he believes it shouldn’t have been given due to the ball hitting Souttar’s head first.
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According to IFAB rules, when a player kicks/heads the ball and it hits their own hand/arm, the laws state: “This is not handball (unless the ball goes directly into the opponents’ goal or the player scores immediately afterwards, in which case a direct free kick is awarded to the other team).”
Speaking on BBC Sportsound, Miller highlighted a similar moment in another Europa League match elsewhere between Freiburg and West Ham, which proves Souttar was very unlucky.
He said: “He clearly heads it off his arm. His arm and his head are less than a foot apart. I wonder if they think it’s hit his hand first, his head, and then back to his arm – that’s the only way I can understand it.
“His hand comes close to the ball as it’s passing, but it’s not conclusive. For me, there is no way in this world they can definitively say that the ball hit – and it must be the very tops of his fingers – before it hit his head.
“There is no way they can see that. I’m in absolutely no doubt, it’s as clear as day, that he heads it onto his arm.
“There was a penalty in the last minute of Freiburg vs West Ham, the last kick of the ball.
“Tomas Soucek goes to kick it over his head back towards goal and it strikes the Freiburg player on his arm. His hand is above his head. I’m thinking it’s a stonewall penalty. Clearly hits his arm.
“The ref gets called to the monitor, and it must be to see if the Freiburg player has touched it onto his own arm. If it’s not given when Soucek’s done it – which would be crazy because it’s a stonewall penalty – if it’s not given there, how can it go against Souttar? This is the inconsistency people aren’t happy with.”
Replying to his fellow ex-Ibrox star, Steven Thompson added: “Clement will be delighted to get back with the game even, 90 minutes to get yourself into a quarter-final of the Europa League, that’s sensational.
“The first goal they lose is a penalty that shouldn’t have been, and the second one is an unfortunate own goal. Take those out of it (and they can be happy).”
Ally McCoist also gave his verdict while on punditry duties for TNT Sports.
He said: “I can understand why he’s given it, but it’s very, very harsh. And it’s not the first I’ve seen after the last couple of weeks.”
Joining him in the studio, Nigel Spackman added: “It depends what competition you’re playing in. I think they’ve been told if it hits the head and then the arm, it’s not a penalty. But it’s very harsh.
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“Also, it’s going to be an own goal, so how can you say he’s stopped a goalscoring opportunity? Overall I think the referee had a good game tonight…except for that moment.”
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