Europa League: Should Cyriel Dessers have been awarded a penalty against Athletic Bilbao?

Super Eagles striker Cyriel Dessers and his Rangers side were knocked out of the UEFA Europa League after a 2-0.loss to Athletic Bilbao in the second leg of their quarterfinal clash on Thursday, Soccernet.ng reports.

Just like the first leg, Los Leones dominated the game, as they accounted for 56% of the possession and had 22 goal attempts, compared to Rangers' 44% possession and seven shots.

However, the game has been shrouded in controversy due to the officiating on the night. Bosnian referee Irfan Peljto was the man at the center, and he was assisted by Senad Ibrisimbegovic and Davor Beljo. Then, Dutch referees Pol van Boekel and Clay Ruperti were in the VAR room.

The referees are in the spotlight due to one big wrong decision they made in the game, and Dessers was involved. In the 19th minute of the game, the Super Eagles striker appeared to be dragged down by Athletic Bilbao defender Dani Vivian.

When Dessers stood up, the front of his shirt was ripped off as a result of Vivian's dragging, but the referee did not call a penalty. Instead, he ordered Dessers to get a change of shirt and handed him a yellow card for dissent.

Pure shite strips, from Turkey to China, cheap strips cheap team, newco not got a clue. pic.twitter.com/IveoyonReT

— chrismac1888 (@chrismac1888) April 17, 2025

Going by the rules of the game, Dessers should have gotten a penalty while Vivian should have been sent off by virtue of being the last man and impeding a goalscoring opportunity.

That incident has caused a lot of controversy, as the entire complexion of the game could have changed if the referee had called called penalty. As of the time of this report, UEFA have not made a statement on the issue.

What next for Cyriel Dessers and Rangers?

As it stands, Cyriel Dessers and Rangers will have to lick their wounds following the disappointment against Athletic Bilbao. As it stands, the Gers will likely go trophyless this season because Celtic already have on hand on the Premiership title. They also lost the League Cup to Celtic earlier on and got knocked out of the Scottish Cup.

Rangers will look to finish the season on a strong note and restrategize for next season.