(Credit: Imago)

Evan Shaw

Sun 8 March 2026 15:55, UK

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Rangers saw their hopes of Scottish Cup glory ended by Celtic as they were beaten 4-2 on penalties in the quarter finals.

The Glasgow rivals played out an enthralling 0-0 encounter at Ibrox, with the two teams unable to be separated during an action-packed 120 minutes.

James Tavernier and Djeidi Gassama both missed from the spot, before Tomas Cvancara stepped up to score the winning penalty and end the tie.

Rangers’ latest defeat has seen their hopes of a domestic double ended amid the ongoing Scottish Premiership title race, but the game was certainly not without its controversies.

Scott Arfield reacts to Rangers penalty incident

Rangers began Sunday’s game on the front foot, just as they had in the previous week’s encounter, and they were almost handed a golden opportunity to take the lead in just the 20th minute.

Rohl’s men worked the ball forward neatly to fashion an opening for Youssef Chermiti at the edge of the box, but the striker quickly saw his shot blocked away by a sliding Auston Trusty.

The ball struck the arm of the Celtic centre-back, but referee Don Robertson was unmoved, despite vociferous protests from both the Rangers players and fans.

The incident was checked by VAR official Andrew Dallas, who instructed his colleague that he had made the correct decision after consulting replays from several difficult angles.

Former Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield was also in agreement with the call from the man in the middle, and he made that clear during his analysis of the incident on Premier Sports.

“It’s absolutely the correct decision,” the 37-year-old said.

“If this is a penalty, then we should all just pack up and go. He (Trusty) can’t do anything there, he’s got his hand in a natural position.

“His other arm is raised a little bit, and of course (if the ball hits that) then you’ve got a decision to make. But this is the correct decision.”

Don Robertson’s inconsistent refereeing display

Football Insider paid close attention to Robertson’s refereeing performance during Sunday’s clash, and it was undoubtedly an inconsistent display from the man in the middle.

Gers midfielder Mohamed Diomande was the first to go into his book in just the second minute of the action, when Robertson decided that his late challenge was worthy of a caution.

That should have set the tone in terms of the level of physicality that would be allowed during the game, but Robertson continually deviated from the standard that he set.

The most obvious example of that came in the 26th minute, when Mikey Moore escaped a booking for bringing down Benjamin Nygren to stop a Celtic break away.

Robertson may have got the penalty incident right in the eyes of many, but it was far from a perfect display from the official.