adminChris Sutton didn’t hold back after Rangers slumped to a 2-1 defeat against Hibernian at Ibrox on Sunday.
The match turned on a disputed penalty awarded to Hibs, with Josh Campbell converting from the spot and Callum Wright adding a second to secure the win. The foul against Vanja Dragojevic was flagged by VAR, and although Ivor Pandur got a hand to it, he couldn’t keep the penalty out.
Keith Hackett had already offered his take on the contentious call, and Sutton—never one to miss a chance to rile up Rangers fans—was quick to weigh in with his usual provocative style.
What did Chris Sutton say about the Rangers vs Hibernian penalty incident?
Sutton had no doubts: it was a penalty, and he dismissed the argument that shirt-pulling and blocking happen all the time in the box. He called that reasoning “lazy” and backed the referee’s decision.
Posting on X on 9 August, the former Celtic striker wrote: “Excellent refereeing at Ibrox to award the Hibs penalty. Very lazy when people say ‘it happens all the time’. Defending player not facing the ball, no intention of playing the ball… just blocking the attacker… correct decision…”
Why Sutton needs to check his bias this time
Let’s be honest—Sutton knows exactly what he’s doing. If that call had gone against Celtic, he’d be singing a very different tune.
In reality, the incident was a classic case of six of one, half a dozen of the other, and probably shouldn’t have resulted in a spot-kick. The real “lazy” take might just be Sutton’s refusal to see it clearly through anything other than green-tinted glasses.
Manager Derek McInnes and his players won’t lose sleep over the pundit’s opinion—they’ll be more focused on their lack of cutting edge up front. That was a point Sutton actually got right after the Dundee United draw, but any goodwill from Rangers fans has now evaporated.
If we can’t even agree on the obvious errors, how can the Scottish FA be expected to address them and prevent repeats?
Sutton needs to park his allegiances on this one—for the good of the game. If Scottish football keeps being overshadowed by poor refereeing decisions, it risks turning neutral viewers away in the long run.
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