JACK BUTLAND believes a dangerous precedent has been set after Nick Walsh’s failure to protect him at Hampden.
Ibrox bosses have been left “unsatisfied” with the explanation of key refereeing decisions during Rangers’ controversial Premier Sports Cup semi-final defeat to Celtic.
Referee Walsh – who’d earlier shown Gers star Thelo Aasgaard a straight red card – opted to caution Austin Trusty’s kick out at Butland’s head instead.
The decision sparked outrage among Light Blues supporters with the Rangers Fan Advisory board demanding an immediate review into officiating in the country.
Gers chiefs believe the performance of the officials raised “legitimate concerns”.
Butland has now broken his silence on the row, insisting: “At the time, I thought it was late.
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“Was there a massive amount of malice involved? Not necessarily, but was it mistimed.
“As a keeper when you’re putting yourself in that position to go and be brave.
“You’d like to think that you’re protected, in a sense, from things like that.
“Seeing it afterwards, it was perhaps later than I thought in real time as well.
“So, a difficult one to accept.
“Obviously, conversations have been had since.
“It’s difficult to accept that that’s perhaps a precedent that is going to continue, if that’s a similar situation against any team, regardless of who it is.
“There was a little bit of disappointment between all the staff that day from a refereeing side.
“It’s one you feel as a keeper that when you’re going into those situations, yes, we have the benefit of being able to use our hands and perhaps be a little bit more physical at times.
“But when you’re entitled to go for the ball at players’ feet and things like that it can be a by-product of getting hit.
“That’s just part and parcel of the game.
“But late ones and clumsy ones like that, you’d like to feel that there was something a bit different.
“I think there’ll be more discussions on it, just for a few more answers.
“I think I share the views of probably the majority on it.”
Butland revealed he and several senior Rangers players spoke to Walsh at half-time last Sunday.
Walsh – who showed Diomade a red card last season for a seemingly less serious collision against Dundee United at Tannadice – has come under-fire following a series of high profile blunders.
Butland said: “I spoke to him about it at half-time, not at the end of the game because the game’s gone at that point.
“I was looking for some clarity at the time.
“I’m not going to go into individuals or whether we’ve got a different referee this weekend and obviously hoping the standard is top.
“Like I said, I think it’s just a situation where between the referee and all the staff that you’re looking for communication between them, calm communication between them, so that they go through things and come to the right decision.
“Obviously, since then, the statements that have been made is that they’re happy with that.
“And if that’s the way that they’re going, then it’s got to continue like that.
“We focus on what directly affects us.
“Have we been disappointed with some of it? Yes, I think we have been.
“All that you can ask is that, regardless of how it’s happened and what decisions were made at the time, that improvements are being made and ultimately the right decisions are going to get made moving forward.
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“I’m not going to put any fuel to that fire either, but we play in a competitive league where things can happen.
“Obviously, with the addition of all the assistance that the referees perhaps get nowadays, we can only hope moving forward and the right decisions get made and it stays as fair as it possibly can.”
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