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Bilbao rage at 'unseen' penalty as Rangers spot kick snub sparks 'incomprehensible' Spanish inquisition

Athletic wanted another bite at the penalty cherry and were left raging at the referee for not giving it

Maroan Sannadi went down but was booked for diving(Image: UEFA via Getty Images)

Athletic Bilbao couldn't beat Liam Kelly with one chance from the spot – but Spanish fans and media felt they should have had another bite at the cherry after a foul from Leon Balogun.


Rangers clawed their way to a 0-0 draw despite playing the vast majority with a man disadvantage Robin Propper's early red card.


Ref Istvan Kovacs was at the centre of it all, initially booking Propper before a VAR review caused him to upgrade it.


He also missed the handball from Dujon Sterling which led to the penalty Athletic did get, once again needing a tech intervention to give the decision.

But the Bilbao rage at the ref doesn't stop there.

They also reckon the whistler blundered when he booked their striker Maroan Sannadi for simulation in the second half after he went down in the box under a challenge from Balogun in the box.


Raging punters took to social media, one writing "that's a penalty," while another simply said "Incredible."

There was even a theory shared that Kovacs had purposely not given the penalty to even up the early red card as one punter seethed: "Easy, the law of compensation for the expulsion of the central defender…"

Gol and Marca journalist Pavel Fernandez wasn't happy either. He tweeted at the time: “Sannadi’s penalty is in limbo. The striker was clearly brought down by a knee.


Maoran Sannadi is frustrated at Ibrox(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

“Kovacs gave him a yellow card for simulation. VAR’s failure to intervene is incomprehensible. It’s a penalty."

And he lated raged about the whistler: "He misses Propper's red card, doesn't see Sannadi's penalty, and doesn't see Sterling's handball either."


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Rangers FCAthletic BilbaoEuropa LeagueBarry FergusonRobin PropperDujon SterlingLeon Balogun
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