Super Eagles and Rangers striker, Cyriel Dessers has claimed his side were unfairly denied a clear penalty during their UEFA Europa League quarter-final defeat to Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.
Dessers was visibly frustrated after referee Irfan Peljto chose not to award a penalty for what appeared to be a blatant shirt pull by Bilbao defender Dani Vivian inside the box.
The incident occurred during the first half and, despite a VAR check, no foul was given.
Rangers eventually bowed out of the competition with a 2-0 aggregate loss, even Former Rangers forward Ally McCoist, criticizing the officiating.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, Dessers recounted the moment and revealed a surprising admission from the defender himself:
“My shirt gets pulled and even if there’s doubt, just look at the shirt. If there’s a tear like this, something happened at least,” he said.
“You can’t rip a shirt in the box, it’s not possible. It’s not possible in the middle of the pitch.
“So that was a game changer. I got a yellow card because I came back on to the pitch. I changed my shirt while I was still on and wanted to get back to my position but got booked.”
“After it, the ref was kind to me and showed some compassion. But I spoke to the defender and, of course, he admitted it was a penalty.”
Dessers also mentioned another possible handball incident in the second half that went unpunished.
“There was also a shout for a penalty in the second half with the handball. But that’s football, we were on the wrong side of it today.
“That hurts but we have to get through it.”
