Bizarre Rangers v Hearts ending leaves confused pundits saying 'I haven't seen anything like that at the end of a game'

RANGERS held on to secure a nerve-wracking win over Hearts at Ibrox on Sunday.

And the rather bizarre conclusion to the game wouldn't have done anything to help the Light Blues fans' jitters!

4 There was confusion at the very end of the match at Ibrox Credit: Willie Vass

4 Nobody seemed to know what was going on Credit: BBC SPORTSCENE

4 A potential penalty check appeared to be at the heart of confusion Credit: BBC SPORTSCENE

4 The final whistle went after a rather odd 30-second delay Credit: BBC SPORTSCENE

Cyriel Dessers found the net just six minutes in with the striker's goal proving the winner in a narrow 1-0 victory for Philippe Clement's men.

The Jambos gave the Gers plenty to think about, spurning several chances during the game.

Rangers, too, had chances to kill the game off, with Neraysho Kasanwirjo smacking the ball off of the crossbar in the dying minutes.

A nervy four minutes of injury time came and went, but confusion reigned at the final whistle - or NOT the final whistle as it turned out.

Hearts were throwing everything at it as the final few seconds ticked away, with goalkeeper Craig Gordon even joining the attack.

The ball broke to Blair Spittal on the edge of the area and he fired a shot towards goal.

Rangers sub Kieran Dowell charged the ball down, with the ball cannoning off him and flying to safety.

As the ball flew away from the danger area, referee Matthew MacDermid blew his whistle.

But it was NOT the final whistle, and there was major confusion as players, fans and pundits alike tried to figure out what was going on.

What was clear was that Hearts players were claiming for a handball and that appeared to be at the centre of the confusion.

Rangers boss Philippe Clement helps presenter avoid on-air mishap moments before going live on-air

After the peep of his whistle, referee MacDermid wandered around for around 30 seconds and it was clear that none of the players really seemed to know what was going on.

Premier Sports commentator Michael Stewart was stunned and exclaimed: “What is he doing? I don’t think anybody knows.

"To be honest, I think Dowell’s arm is down near his body, but the referee has been as clear as mud in terms of what was actually going on there.

“If it was full-time, why did he wait at least a minute or so in talking to the players, about something that was immaterial because the game was over. Blow your whistle.”

After that 30 seconds passed, the referee DID then blow the full-time whistle and brought the game to an end.

Commentator Rory Hamilton said: "Well, that is the full-time whistle. I have to say, I haven't seen anything like that at the conclusion of a football game.

"But, as Hearts continue the protests through Lawrence Shankland, you can see Craig Gordon's not happy at all either."

It certainly was a confusing situation, but it appeared as though the referee was giving VAR the opportunity to review the footage of the potential handball before bringing an end to the game.

Given he failed to award anything on-field, it's clear that the referee did NOT feel that Dowell was guilty of a handball offence.

If he had deemed a foul had taken place, he would have pointed for either a free-kick or penalty-kick.

Therefore, it appears as though he was waiting on VAR confirmation that no offence warranting a penalty had taken place before ending the game.

He did, however, bring a halt to the game as time had expired instead of letting play rage on beyond the allotted time, when another major match incident could potentially have occurred.

There weren't many replays shown of the incident, but the camera from the side of the pitch showed that the ball struck Dowell outside the area.

It did seem to strike the Gers man on the arm, but nonetheless, it appeared to be by his side.

Speaking after the game, Hearts boss Neil Critchley was more annoyed about the amount of stoppage time than the confusing incident itself.

He said: “I’ve not seen it back yet and I don't know if it was in the box or not in the box. But I think the time, three minutes, I thought it should have been longer than that."

Fans took to social media to add their confusion.

One simply said: "Strange ending."

Another added: "Even the ref doesn't have a clue what's going on."

While another fan, appearing to suss out what was occurring, said: "He blew once to check VAR and when VAR said no penalty he blew for full time."

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