Why unflinching Rangers penalty jibe that's gone global could land Hibs in SFA hot water

Hibs could face punishment from the SFA after taking a cheeky dig at the match officials for awarding Rangers a penalty.

John Souttar was involved in an aerial clash with Hibs defender Nectarios Triantis during the first-half of the Scottish Premiership showdown at Ibrox. While referee David Dickinson initially allowed play to continue but he was eventually sent to review the flashpoint by VAR Andrew Dallas. The man in the middle would point to the spot allowing James Tavernier the chance to score from the spot.

Before David Marshall saved the spot-kick, the Hibees posted to their official X account implying that it was a matter of time until Philippe Clement's men were awarded a penalty - riffing on penalty to Rangers memes which flood social media when the Ibrox side receive a spot kick. The comment read: "Penalty to Rangers. Who had 20 minutes?" While many met the jibe with a smirk, it could land the Easter Road outfit in hot water with the Hampden beaks following the 3-1 defeat at Ibrox.

The rule book states that clubs cannot include criticism of match officials which indicates bias or incompetence on the part of a match official in their social media output. Rule 29.1 states: “A club or recognised football body which publishes, distributes, issues, sells or authorises a third party to publish, distribute, issue or sell a match programme or any other publication or audio/visual material, including but not limited to the internet, social networking or micro-blogging sites, shall be held responsible for all matters contained therein.”

Rule 29.2 adds: “A club shall ensure that any such publications or audio/visual material does not contain any criticism of any match official calculated to indicate bias or incompetence