Philippe Clement calls for Rangers ref solution as boss wants to hold officials accountable OUTSIDE of games

Philippe Clement reckons sitdowns with referees OUTSIDE of matchdays would go a long way to solving the recurring issues with officials and VAR.

Virtually every club in the SPFL has had issues with officiating standards this season and a recent independent review showed 13 VAR calls were incorrect during the second round of fixtures. Among those was the decision not to recommend a review of Alastair Johnston's handball in the last Old Firm derby as Rangers narrowly lost out to Celtic in the end.

That report sparked a question at Clement's press conference ahead of Sunday's clash with St Johnstone as he was asked what improvements he'd like to see as far as officials are concerned. And the boss says regular chats with officials outside of the intensity of matchday could be one route forward.

He said: "I live in the present and the future, I don’t live in the past. It’s good there is transparency around decisions made, it is important everyone can learn from mistakes in football, including myself. It’s always good to have communication with the referees.

“It is important to have communication between referees and managers a few times a season away from the games. At the moment, the only communication is around games where all the tension is. It can be interesting to have good discussions about the game of football and the rules and things that happened in the months before, but with respect and less misunderstandings.

"We have done this one or two times in Belgium. It is always worthwhile to have this communication. Everybody can have their view on things and with this, we can have a better product of football."