The true reason for the referee’s “assistance” of Rangers player Tom Lawrence during the “don’t tackle” VAR audio storm

Craig Moore insists that the reason reason referee Ross Hardie told Tom Lawrence ‘not to tackle’ a Ross County player a clash with Rangers is because it has ALWAYS happened.

Philippe Clement ‘s team ran riot at Hampden Park that day but following the release of VAR audio from the game a new talking point has emerged. The game was poised at 1-0 when winger Aidan Denholm broke forward before being tackled by Lawrence – with the Rangers midfielder being told several times ‘don’t tackle there Tom!’ which was picked up by the microphone.

Whistler Hardie then declares the Welshman has “played the ball” – and eventually the Light Blues would go on to double their lead after the successful tackle by Lawrence. The plea with the player to avoid the tackle has raised eyebrows of supporters – but former Rangers captain Moore insists it’s nothing new.

Discussing the call on the Go Radio Football Show, Moore said: “I think people are getting a little bit excited about some audio that was released of a referee telling Tom Lawrence not to tackle. Just to reassure fans, this is something that has happened for a long, long time. I remember playing games where a referee would say ‘easy, easy, stay on your feet’ – you do get communication like this from referees…”

Host Paul Cooney chimed in: “The ref would be kind of helping you…” But was cut off by Moore and shut down the suggestion of help: “It’s not even helping you, it’s protecting you. Nobody wants to see anything other than 22 players on the field. The referees do give that kind of feedback during a game. It’s not new.”

Former Celtic hero Andy Walker added in defence of the officials: “I have had referees telling me to keep my elbows down – I have them high, I think, to protect myself and I don’t think I was throwing them to hurt anyway and they were in area where they could be endangering someone. That is something you just take on board from a referee who just understands it is a tough game for the players.

“Most referees were strong, firm and fair. You didn’t always agree with them but you knew they were doing the job to the best of their ability.”

Ibrox View: With the purchase of new property, Tavernier’s decision about the Rangers’ future is undoubtedly determined.

Rangers captain James Tavernier has seemingly provided an insight into his future in Glasgow after his latest seven-figure purchase.

The 32-year-old has been linked with a move away from the Gers all summer, and those rumours resurfaced after his abysmal performance in the 3-0 defeat to Celtic with a permanent exit from the club still on the table [Graeme Bailey].

According to the Scottish Sun [7 September], however, Tavernier has spent £1million on an apartment in the Park Circus area of Glasgow in a sign that his Rangers career will not end any time soon.

James Tavernier looks set to remain with Rangers

The performance in the Old Firm derby was a damning recognition of the gulf in class between the two sides in Glasgow and Tavernier cannot hide away from the fact he let his side down at Parkhead.

He was the culprit for Daizen Maeda’s opening goal and has split opinion among the Rangers fan base, with many wanting him out of the club and others feeling he has unfairly become the scapegoat for the side.

Either way, Philippe Clement cannot afford to lose his starting right-back at this point and will need to move forward with Tavernier in his plans until January at least.

It became apparent throughout the summer that Tavernier was free to leave the Light Blues should a suitable offer come forward. But none arrived, forcing Clement to focus on other high-profile departures to fund his summer rebuild.

A decision on the long-term future of the captain must be made sooner rather than later. While the Gers are light in the right-back spot, starting Tavernier week in and week out to force a January move with Dujon Sterling waiting in the wings makes no sense.

For now, it seems Tavernier will be staying in Scotland for the foreseeable future. That decision could be taken away from him if he doesn’t sort out his performances and start becoming the leader that Rangers desperately need.

“No Question”: Michael Stewart makes a devastating assertion about the Rangers following Clement’s transfer.

Rangers don’t look like they had a plan in the transfer window and have managed to weaken the side from last term, according to Michael Stewart.

The pundit told Premier Sports’ Scottish Football Social Club on 2 September there was “no question” the squad is now worse than the one that fell short last season after a “lack of strategy” in the market this summer.

Celtic blew the Light Blues away 3-0 at Parkhead over the weekend to expose Philippe Clement’s half-finished transfer business after a financially frustrating window.

Stewart said (14m 10s): “There’s no question that Rangers are a weaker squad then they were last season but I go back to the point that there does certainly feel like there’s a lack of strategy in terms of where do they need to strengthen.

“It just seems a little bit ad-hoc and scattergun.”

Rangers lose to Celtic again after Philippe Clement transfer window

Clement may be due some criticism for how he prepared his side for the trip across Glasgow at the weekend, and comments after the game that suggested he didn’t appreciate the significance of the defeat.

But having been stuck having to sell to buy throughout the summer while the club strained to offload Michael Beale purchases there is plenty the Belgian is not responsible for.

What looks like a perfect storm at Ibrox has seemingly undone all the good work Clement had produced in his early months in Scotland.

It was widely accepted that the squad wasn’t good enough after the title race was conceded last term, and the incoming summer haul is a work in progress at best.

Connor Barron has impressed so far but was overwhelmed at Celtic, while Vaclav Cerny’s early flashes have quickly dried up and Robin Propper is already looking just as calamitous and injury-prone as every other centre-back in recent seasons

The Deadline Day captures of Neraysho Kasanwirjo and Nedim Bajrami may prove to be good ones, and Hamza Igamane finally showed some positive signs in his first minutes at Parkhead.

But it is far from obvious that what has come in is of a higher quality than what has left, and this season is already looking like a slog unless something drastic changes quickly.

As the Rangers move a mega-money contract from Ibrox wage bill, Rabbi Matondo will depart

Derek Ferguson believes that Rabbi Matondo’s move to Blackburn before the transfer window closes is the right one given his enormous salary at Rangers.

To the surprise of host Si Ferry, the former Gers midfielder revealed on Open Goal (August 22) that the quick wide player is paid £34,000 a week at Ibrox.

He has been heavily linked to a move to Ewood Park despite his impressive performance in the 6-0 victory over Ross County on August 24 [Daily Mail, 22 August].

Ferguson thinks it would make sense to approve an exit for the money he is on so Philippe Clement can make some of his own signings prior to the transfer deadline.

“The other thing is in terms of the wages because you hear the rumours up here about what he’s on,” he exclusively told Ibrox News.

And he seems to be on a hell of a lot of money for the Scottish Premiership.

“I believe the manager would prefer to have him removed from the team because he needs new players.”

“The manager has had a good year to look at Rabbi; he’s been there for a good while.” He might not be his type.

“I’m sure he leaves with the best wishes of the fans,”

Rabbi Matondo will stay, according to Rangers manager Philippe Clement, barring a sizable offer.

Rangers winger is what Blackburn Rovers manager wants at Ewood Park.

Even before he scored two goals at the weekend, Blackburn manager John Eustance announced his team’s interest in the 23-year-old [Lancashire Telegraph, August 22].

Raising the stakes on a late departure, Clement said after the game that Matondo would stay unless a club were to “come with enough money” [Sky Sports, 24 August].

The Welsh international’s wage would probably be justified if he consistently produced results similar to his most recent one.

It may not be a contract the Gers can afford to carry, though, after two years of patchy form and fitness and only moments of brilliance [Scottish Sun, 23 August], especially in light of rumours he might be used as a makeweight to bring in Blackburn captain Lewis Travis.