Famous referee criticises Rangers for Jefte red card as 'insulted' Ibrox side used trigger to cover up

Former FIFA referee Myroslav Stupar believes Rangers used the outrage over Jefte's red card to distract from the real problem in their loss to Dynamo Kyiv.

The Brazilian left-back received his second yellow card in the goalless draw at Hampden, which ultimately changed the game and gave Dynamo a 2-0 win on the night. The decision was widely criticised, with many arguing it wasn't even a foul as Jefte had simply jumped up to block a header before referee Marco Guida ruled he had caught Oleksandr Karavaev with his arm.

As it was a second booking, the VAR could not intervene and Philippe Clement was the main cause of outrage after the match, describing the decision as the worst he had seen in 30 years. But Stupar, who was a goalkeeper in Ukraine for 11 years before becoming a FIFA-approved referee for 14 years, defended Guida.

Stupar, a well-known figure in his home country, called for people to “trust” the referee's judgment, and believes Rangers used outrage over the decision as a cover for the real problem being Jack Butland's role in Dynamo's first goal.

He said: “Of course the Scots were insulted by the decision. They had to play the rest of the game with ten men and that gave Dynamo a huge advantage. But they used the red card to cover up what had happened when their goalkeeper was heavily at fault for Dynamo's first goal. As for the red card, I can understand why it was given. For me the main takeaway was that players who have a yellow card should be very careful.

“Let's be honest, Rangers had numerous chances in the two games and they didn't take them. They should focus on that and not on the referee's performance. The referee was very closely involved in the incident that resulted in the Rangers player being sent off. I think we should trust his judgement.”