"A ridiculous decision by the Italian referee..." - Scottish media on Rangers' defeat by Dynamo

Scottish journalists believe that the referee spoiled the game with his decision to send off Rangers forward Jeftje. It was this decision of the referee that became the key to the match, as the Ukrainian club gained a numerical advantage, which they converted into goals. Another event that is being discussed is Rangers' move to Hampden Park (the stadium where the Scottish national team plays) instead of their home arena, Ibrox, which is currently undergoing renovation.

Glasgow Times.

"Hampden Park has fallen silent as Rangers miss out on Champions League group stage" - Glasgow Times journalist believes that the stadium has become unlucky for Rangers, who will not get much needed support from the fans.

"The need to temporarily move to Hampden until the delayed renovation of the Copeland Stand at Ibrox Stadium is completed will be costly for Rangers as their fight to reach the next round of Champions League qualifying ended in a crushing defeat. The Light Blues' fans are dissatisfied with the fact that their heroes cannot play matches in their "spiritual homeland" due to delays in the supply of materials from Asia.

Traveling to Hampden to watch Rangers play, despite widespread hostility to the stadium, has been a joyous experience for them in the past. It has always meant that their team has reached the semifinals or finals of one of the two national cup competitions. But participating in such an important European match somewhere outside of the Aibrox didn't seem quite right.

Despite all the difficulties in the last few seasons, Rangers have achieved numerous successes on the continent. The atmosphere created at Ibrox has been an important factor in many matches. Tens of thousands of fans came to the match, hoping that Philippe Clement's men, who drew 1-1 with Dynamo in the first leg of the third qualifying round in Poland, would be able to reach the playoffs. Members of the Union Bears ultra group did their best to raise the noise level by one or two notches as the teams exited the tunnel before kickoff. They hung a banner on the south stand with the words "Admired By All Who Knew Them" and held giant banners with the names of their favorite players. But there were still large sections of the stadium that were empty. It was nothing like what spectators enjoyed during, say, the Europa League final a few seasons ago. Or, for that matter, what has happened at this stage of the Champions League in the recent past.

It's the fourth time since Rangers returned to the top flight eight years ago that they've tried to book a place alongside Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid. They have always received great support when they have done so. 47,021 spectators watched the match at the Ibrox when the team lost to Malmö of Sweden in 2021; 48,454 people came to the match when the team defeated Belgian club Union 3-0 in 2022; 48,956 people came to the match when the team defeated Swiss side Servette 2-1 last year.

When Kyiv defender Denys Popov fell to the ground in the Rangers penalty area in a shameless attempt to earn a penalty, the only sounds that could be heard were the applause and shouts of a small group of visiting fans positioned in the corner between the South and East stands.

Ultimately, the Rangers players should be able to play to the best of their abilities, regardless of how many people are praising them. They failed to do so. James Tavernier and his teammates, with the exception of a couple of defensive errors and some worrying moments, had the upper hand in the first half. However, they were unable to realize any of their chances.

"The home team lacked a creative spark, sharpness, and much-needed quality in attack. Vaclav Cerny, the Czech winger who had assisted Desserts for the late goal in Lublin seven days earlier, received a standing ovation when he replaced McCausland at the start of the second half.

But the harsh dismissal of Jefte, for a second offense, only five minutes after the resumption of play put Rangers in a difficult position. It was a ridiculous decision by Italian referee Marc Guida. But VAR could not be used to overturn it. This decision angered the fans. They were excited by the blatant injustice. The Hampden roar? More like Hampden's Rage. Every jump by a Dynamo player, and there were many of them, was later loudly criticized.

Their anger was quelled by two goals from Kyiv within three minutes. Hundreds of fans headed for the exit when Oleksandr Pykhalenok scored. Thousands more followed when his teammate Nazar Voloshyn added another shortly after. With around £40 million available to teams that qualify, the defeat was a crushing financial blow to a club that is not currently that rich."

The Scottish Sun

"The scandalous second yellow card has deprived Rangers of their dream of playing in the Champions League" - the journalist of The Scottish Sun believes that there was no violation in the episode with the removal of Jefta, so the referee's decision to punish the Rangers player can be considered scandalous.

"All of Philippe Clement's worst fears came true on one terrible night at Hampden Park. Without the phenomenal support at Ibrox and after a scandalous referee's decision, Rangers suffered a crushing defeat. The £4 million they could have received for reaching the playoffs went to Dynamo's budget. This money would have been very useful for the Glasgow club. Last month, Philippe Clement warned that his team was not ready for the Champions League, but the Rangers management was in no hurry to strengthen the squad.

"Rangers were knocked out of the Champions League after Oleksandr Pykhalenok and Nazar Voloshyn scored two goals in the last ten minutes. Earlier, Jeftje was sent off for an offense he did not commit. However, Dynamo Kyiv showed no mercy and took advantage of the situation.

The dream of a whopping £40 million for reaching the group stage has now turned to rubble. And although Rangers automatically qualify for the Europa League group stage, the defeat at the hands of Dynamo left them bitterly regretting the money they had lost. As a result of the summer turmoil, the Light Blues' hopes of reaching the coveted Champions League zone have never been so weak. Never before has the need for this been so high. But at the most important moment, everything went wrong for Rangers, and Philippe Clement will remember the Italian referee for a long time. The coach of the Scottish club admitted that he had not seen such a strange decision in the last 30 years."

BBC Scotland

"The experts called the referee's decision a disgrace," a BBC journalist quoted two former Rangers players who worked as experts at the match with Dynamo and were shocked by Jeftje's dismissal.

"Rangers began their temporary stay at Hampden Park with a 2-1 win over Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday and were apparently disappointed by the number of empty seats at their first home European match at the national stadium. There were boos among the fans when it was announced that Ross McCausland would start in place of Vaclav Cerny, who scored his first goal for Rangers over the weekend.

Rangers head coach Philippe Clement said that the medical staff felt the newly acquired player was not yet ready to start in two games in a week, but it weakened the Rangers attack. Cerny showed his class, and the Czech national team player's appearance could have turned the game around if Rangers hadn't lost a player on the opposite flank after Jefte's second yellow card.

Even with Buyalsky back, Kyiv did not look like the formidable team that defeated Partizan. The Kyiv head coach also made several substitutions. However, the decisive moment of the match was the removal of Jeftje five minutes after the break. "Rangers will be left thinking that they missed a brilliant opportunity to get one step closer to the Champions League group stage in a match against a fairly ordinary team. The decision of Italian referee Marco Guida seemed too harsh on the 20-year-old, but the summer rookie from Fluminense was on the verge of being sent off after his first yellow card early in the match. The coaching staff also had to take this into account. Experts on the BBC called the decision shameful, as they did not see a violation, but simply a struggle between two players. The hosts' situation worsened when left back Ridvan Yilmaz had to be taken off on a stretcher at the end of the match.

Davis, who came on as a substitute, did not play well, and the numerical advantage still had an impact at the end of the game. "Dynamo scored two goals, after which everything became clear. "Rangers will play in the Europa League, while the Ukrainian club will compete with Salzburg for a place in the group stage."