Ex-FIFA referee Keith Hackett blasts ‘injustice’ against Rangers star Bojan Miovski

Rangers striker Bojan Miovski has been backed by former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee Keith Hackett after being penalised for handball during North Macedonia’s Nations League defeat to Scotland.

Hackett believes Miovski was unfairly punished for the incident and described the decision as an example of poor officiating.

Scotland secured the victory through goals from Kieron Bowie and John McGinn, with the result moving them up to third place in Nations League Group B1. North Macedonia, meanwhile, remain at the bottom of the group.

The controversial moment came in the 69th minute when Scotland were awarded a penalty following a VAR review.

Bowie’s effort from close range struck Miovski, who had raised his arm slightly as he attempted to protect himself. VAR advised the referee to take another look, eventually resulting in a penalty for Scotland.

McGinn made no mistake from the spot, while Miovski was also shown a yellow card for the incident.

However, Hackett believes the Rangers forward had virtually no opportunity to avoid the ball because of the extremely short distance between him and the shot.

He argued that the handball laws leave too much room for different interpretations from officials, meaning similar incidents can result in completely different decisions.

According to Hackett, the referee should have considered how little time Miovski had to react before deciding whether the contact warranted a penalty.

He also pointed out that even if there was an argument that Miovski’s arm made his body appear larger, the striker did not have enough time to deliberately position it that way.

The former referee therefore feels the incident should not have resulted in a penalty and believes Miovski was unfortunate to be punished for a situation he had little realistic chance of preventing.