UEL: St Mirren legend slams Dessers over intention to con referee into awarding a penalty

St Mirren legend Steven Thompson has criticized Cyriel Dessers for allegedly attempting to deceive the referee into awarding a penalty during Rangers' UEFA Europa League clash with Fenerbahce.

Dessers, who has been in top form since Barren Ferguson took charge as Rangers manager, played 67 minutes in the match but could not prevent his team from suffering a 2-0 defeat in regular time at Ibrox Stadium. He was later substituted for Hamza Igamane

The defeat put Rangers’ on the brink of elimination, despite their 3-1 victory in the first leg in Istanbul.

With both sides tied 3-3 on aggreegate, the Scottish club progressed to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Europa League, winning 3-2 on penalties.

While Dessers had been influential in the first leg, scoring a goal and providing an assist, he struggled to make an impact in the return fixture.

His performance was marred by a controversial moment in the 51st minute when he went down inside the penalty box following a free-kick delivery from Vaclav Cerny.

However, referee Espen Eskas was unimpressed and waved play on, refusing to award a penalty.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, Steven Thompson backed the referee’s decision and criticized Dessers’ actions.

"Sometimes Cyriel Dessers looks for these things in the box and goes down awfully easily,” Thompson remarked.

Despite the controversy, Dessers has been enjoying a strong run of form for Rangers, registering four goals and one assist in four matches across all competitions since Ferguson’s appointment.

His performances earned him a spot in Nigeria’s 39-man provisional squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe. However, he was ultimately omitted from the final 23-man squad.

As Rangers shift focus to domestic competitions, Dessers will look to put the controversy behind him and continue his resurgence under Ferguson.

Adeyemi Adewale

Photo Credit: rangers.co.uk

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