Kevin Clancy's Rangers disaster shows he has not got the temperament to referee big games - Derek Clark

The champions were far from their best and were perhaps even fortunate to come away with a point given the Dons' patterns of the game.

Despite the lacklustre showing, the main story of the game was a staggeringly awful refereeing display from Kevin Clancy which further strengthens the already watertight argument for VAR to be introduced in the Scottish game.

The 38-year-old’s performance was nothing short of diabolical with key decisions fluffed that affected both teams.

Interestingly, Clancy has taken charge of five matches between Rangers and Aberdeen. Of those encounters, the Ibrox side have won one game, a 3-0 victory back in April 2017.

The big talking point from an otherwise unusually sedate first half last night was Aberdeen’s claim for a penalty when Allan McGregor appeared to clip Ryan Hedges when through on one on one with the keeper. No foul was given and Rangers ventured up the park and scored a sublime goal through Ianis Hagi.

The decision not to award a foul against McGregor, infuriated Dons boss Stephen Glass who told Sky Sports afterwards: "It's a penalty kick.

"I think anyone with a pair of eyes can see that.

"It might be difficult for the ref from the distance he is on, but the linesman; I don't know how he doesn't see it.

READ MORE: Giovanni van Bronckhorst Rangers Q+A in full: Ryan Kent's red card, scoring in the 'right moment' and VAR

"But you can't complain about it or you end up in the stand not able to help your team.”

While there is dubiety about whether there was enough contact for the Welshman to go down, there is no doubting the veteran keeper connected and got nowhere near the ball. It's one you'd definitely file under the 'you've seen them given' criteria.

Unfortunately for Clancy, his performance would sink to murkier depths in the second half.

The decision to send Ryan Kent off for two bookable offences was farcical. The first for a mild altercation with Jonny Hayes of the kind you see in the SPFL every week without punishment.

Speaking on Rangers TV, co-commentator Gordon Smith said: “He didn’t do anything to him there, that was nothing.

“Jonny Hayes had a go at Ryan Kent, it wasn’t the other way about.

“It was Jonny Hayes who brought him down with his action after he played the ball away, I didn’t think Ryan Kent did anything at all.”

Clancy, as Tom Miller said on commentary, took the ‘easy option’ by booking both players.

It was a caution that would lead directly to Kent’s jaw-dropping dismissal on 84 minutes when Clancy was duped by Scott Brown’s over the top theatrics in making it look like he had been taken out by the Rangers man. The lack of actual contact mattered not a jot because he was given his marching orders.

The sending off also sparks a wider discussion on the nonsensical rules within Scottish football that state you cannot appeal a dismissal if a player receives two yellow cards. Rangers and Kent essentially face double punishment - both on the night and in terms of future suspension - for an incident where there shouldn't have been a card shown in the first place.

The absurdity of said rule was highlighted in November when Bobby Madden sent off Aberdeen’s Funso Ojo after being pushed by a Dundee United supporter. The Dons were rightly "dismayed" that they were unable to appeal the ludicrous decision.

Rangers finished the match with 10-men last night but Aberdeen were fortunate not to do likewise when Hayes elbowed Borna Barisic twice in the face right under the nose of the linesman. The Croatian’s nose was burst asunder, with the flowing claret an obvious indication of wrongdoing but despite remonstrating with Clancy, he somehow thought it right to ignore the claims.

Eventually, Clancy ordered Barisic off the pitch deep into stoppage time when he noticed the full extent of the left back’s injury after giving away a foul on Hedges. It left Rangers defending a crucial free-kick with NINE men.

Then there is the Aberdeen penalty incident. The decision to award the spot-kick was correct, as harsh as it was given Alfredo Morelos didn’t know too much about it.

READ MORE: Rangers star Ryan Kent's red card branded 'ridiculous' after Aberdeen draw

It’s what occurred afterwards that should result in Clancy being scrutinised by the SFA. To allow the ball to move before being struck by Lewis Ferguson is a decision you wouldn’t expect to see in amateur football.

If Ferguson had missed, he would have been well within his rights to scream for a retake and no argument could be made from a Rangers viewpoint against this.

It was screamingly obvious what had happened. Everyone from match commentators to both benches saw it clearly. Everyone it seems except the man in the middle being paid to notice such details.

The fact Clancy failed to identify this indicates a referee not fully focused on his job. Which leads to a number of questions.

Firstly, VAR needs introduced as soon as possible. A decision on whether the technology will be introduced will be made next month. It’s clear Clancy is not capable of officiating high-pressure matches and needs help. His assistants were unable to provide this last night so the quicker Scottish officials have VAR as an aid, the better.

It’s something that has been rightly championed by Rangers for some time now. On last night’s showing, Light Blues boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst commented: "Of course if you don’t have VAR, the decision that is made by referee is the decision that counts.

"If you have VAR and you get every angle, like with the long ball with Allan in the first half, maybe it is different. I don’t know.

"We saw with the penalty the wind. It is windy here, we saw the ball moving and maybe with VAR it has to be taken over [again].

"That is way it is. We have to accept the decisions by the referee and move on.

"It is a physical game with a lot of tackles, a lot of duels. You know there are going to be yellow cards on both sides."

On whether Kent deserved to be sent off, van Bronckhorst said: "I don’t know. It is a decision by the ref. He got booked a little bit before so there is every chance when you make a foul the fans were going to scream.

"It is normal in a place like this. With ten men, I think we did well and worked hard to get the point."

It’s not the first time van Bronckhorst has called for VAR. The Dutchman made his position clear when asked about the issue in December.

“Yeah, I’m for VAR.

“Because you have situations in games when it is very difficult for the ref to see and to make decisions.

“So VAR is there to help the ref, which is very important. I’m from Holland and I think VAR came from Holland. It’s fair to have VAR for both sides, really, so I’m really for VAR next season.”

Secondly, it’s high time that referees in Scotland were full time. Kevin Clancy was paid £1,000 to officiate last night’s match. That is a substantial amount of money for a few hours work. Over the course of a season, it’s not unfathomable to suggest a referee could make £40,000. That is a very tidy income for someone who isn’t fully committed to being the best version of himself.

On the money being paid out by the governing body, is it unfair to suggest top-flight referees should be full time and not undertake jobs that could interfere with their performance on a match day?

Take Clancy, as an example - a partner in a law firm. A highly pressurised occupation and one that is likely to eat up a great deal of time. It’s not uncommon for footballers to take a drop in income to pursue their dream of playing professionally. Why should referees be different?

In a video posted on the Law Society of Scotland website, Clancy appears in a recording where he describes his flexible working arrangement.  In it, he states: “In my spare time I'm a FIFA international football referee and have been since 2012.  Over the last 10 years, the flexible working that I benefit from is a consequence of the firm recognising my hobby and supporting my international refereeing commitments.”

£1,000 is a tidy sum to pursue your hobby in your spare time.

Again, the subject of full-time referees is an issue van Bronckhorst spoke about last month when he said: “If you are a full-time referee – it doesn't matter what job you have – you can fully concentrate on your job.

“I think sometimes maybe it is not easy for refs because they have their normal jobs and then have to officiate games.

“So in an ideal world, of course. I think if you speak to the refs as well, they will be much better if they can have the full-time jobs because they can do what they love. For me, it is always better to have full-time officials.”

Thirdly, there needs to be accountability for a referee if he is to produce a level of performance that falls below the standards expected.

Demoting referees to the lower leagues is not a punishment. They are able to continue in their profession without receiving the necessary training and development to improve and limit the chance of repeating the same mistakes.

Sadly, we seem no closer to rectifying this issue. So much so, we still live in a world where Hibernian defender Paul McGinn can be banned for two matches for stating a referee’s performance in a game was ‘inept’. This isn’t healthy for the game and needs to be addressed urgently.

The Rangers Review can reveal the club have held ongoing discussions behind the scenes with the SFA on the standard of refereeing. They are keen to drive standards and ensure fair officiating across the board. For all of Scottish football and the greater good of the game.

This is not an issue that needs to be tribal. Celtic, for example, should be on board with this strategy of improvement, working hand in glove with the SFA to affect the radical changes most close observers agree are required. The use of their AGM as a platform to express concern over decisions that don’t go their way - thus heaping added pressure on officials - doesn't help in that regard.

Action is needed otherwise we will continue to be served up below par refereeing displays that we witnessed last night.

Finally, Rangers have a legitimate reason to demand more parity from Clancy.

There is a genuine cause for concern whenever he takes charge of a high profile match. He hasn't shown he has the temperament to officiate games where the stakes are elevated.

For the good of his career and the game in Scotland, he should be removed from the firing line and subjected to the education and training required to develop and, ultimately, improve as a football referee.

Will that happen?

Sadly, it’s highly likely we’ll be having the same discussion in the not too distant future.