Rangers have three matches to go in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League and have every chance of claiming the title. In two days’ time Walter Smith’s men have the intoxicating prospect of a Uefa Cup final in Manchester – a thought which, however much some Ibrox fans rub their heads for clarity, still seems unbelievable. Beyond that there is a Scottish Cup final to come on May 24, concluding a spate of games the like of which few Rangers managers have known for sheer excitement.

Yet Ibrox on Saturday will be recalled for one thing and one thing only – Craig Levein’s molten attack on the referee, Mike McCurry. No manager of modern times in Scotland has ever delivered so stinging and calculating an attack on a match official as Levein did upon entering the Ibrox press room and carefully weighing his words.

McCurry, in fact, is an ordained Baptist minister whose honesty and integrity, even Levein would attest, are beyond dispute. But the Tannadice manager was not questioning any of that.

Instead, Levein provided an unflattering portrait of Reverend McCurry as a weak referee, whose nerve was broken by the intimidating atmosphere of Ibrox, and whose decisions went helplessly in Rangers’ direction.

If Rangers are on a knife-edge over their pursuit of four trophies, Dundee United had their own holy grail, which was third place and a Uefa Cup spot. And Levein clearly felt that this grievous afternoon did irreparable damage to his club’s chances.

Two incidents in particular riled the Dundee United manager. First, David Weir’s challenge on Noel Hunt after 54 minutes, with Rangers leading 2-0 at the time, looked to most neutral onlookers to be a penalty for United. McCurry, however, hurriedly waved the play on, leaving Hunt, in a heap on the ground, looking on in disbelief. Levein was livid about the incident by his dugout, though things were about to get decidedly worse.

Eleven minutes later, Danny Swanson’s 25-yard shot took a deflection off Weir and bounced past Neil Alexander into the corner of the Rangers net.

United were aghast to see McCurry chalk the goal off, this time, amid some confusion, because David Robertson was deemed to be blocking Alexander’s view, thus interfering with play.

It proved the last straw for Levein and United on a hot afternoon in Glasgow. Rangers, having played marvellously in the first half and streaked to a two-goal lead thanks to Nacho Novo, had deserved their half-time advantage. United, though, by this point felt that they were being robbed, and Levein duly let rip later.

“It is impossible to win here in these important games – the referee today bottled it,” the United manager said. “He knew that if he gave us the penalty then he’d have to send David Weir off.

“Important decisions are what referees are judged on. We played well today and if we’d got a penalty, and been back to 2-1 with Rangers down to ten men, then I’d have fancied us strongly to win. I think the ref knew it was a penalty kick but didn’t give it because it was such a big game for Rangers.

“Danny Swanson then scores a goal which hits off Davie Weir and goes in. But this is Rangers, this is Ibrox – you can’t win. An important game like this in a title-decider? You can’t have Rangers losing at Ibrox.”

There was no placating Levein as he took questions from reporters.

“I said to the referee that we were as well just not turning up here today,” he said. “Mike McCurry could have phoned me at home this morning and said, ‘Look, Rangers are going to get the three points, just stay in the house.’ It is impossible. Just try to imagine if these decisions had been the other way about – Mike McCurry would never referee another game again.”

With his fires by now blazing, Levein went on to cite Kirk Broadfoot and Daniel Cousin as two further felons of the scene.

“Noel Hunt was deliberately punched by Kirk Broadfoot, and Cousin deliberately butted Lee Wilkie,” he said. “But after all this I’ll tell you what is going to happen now – I’m going to get hammered [by the SFA] for telling the truth.” Cousin, in truth, was very lucky not to see a red card for his antics.

An Ibrox which was bursting at the seams simply revelled in it.

Novo, who is now making a strong case for inclusion from the start against Zenit St Petersburg on Wednesday, is a creative pest on such days. The little Spaniard is at times not the world’s most intelligent striker, but he is football’s equivalent of golf’s “streaky player” who is capable of days like these. Having headed home Kevin Thomson’s free kick to put Rangers ahead after seven minutes, Novo then scored a spectacular second, thrashing his 20-yard shot from the angle over Lukasz Zaluska’s head into the corner of the net. At this point United had no answer to Rangers.

The game, though, evolved enticingly. Alexander stood up strong and brave to block Mark De Vries’s shot seconds before half-time, whereafter United began to piece together their own menacing game. But fate, as they saw it, unfairly went against them.

De Vries was almost a figure out of Monty Python when he did eventually score for United after 76 minutes. The big Dutchman plunged his header behind Alexander and then sarcastically motioned and mouthed to both McCurry and his linesman, as if to say: “OK? Can this one stand? Are we actually allowed a goal?” For such a comedy turn, De Vries was booked. Booked for sarcasm, indeed.

Jean-Claude Darcheville, on for Cousin with 12 minutes remaining, swept home Rangers’ third two minutes from time following Novo and Barry Ferguson’s gutsy build-up play. Ferguson, once more, led by example for Rangers.

It is onwards now for both clubs. Thomson, who limped off for Rangers early in the second half, will be ready to face Zenit on Wednesday. United, meanwhile, can no longer claim their Uefa Cup spot following Motherwell’s defeat of Aberdeen, but may yet influence the title when they play Celtic. Certainly, no one at Tannadice will forget this game in a hurry.

Rangers (4-3-1-2) N Alexander 5 K Broadfoot 6 C Cuéller 7 D Weir 5 S Papac 6 S Whittaker 5 C Dailly 5 K Thomson 6 B Ferguson 7 N Novo 7 D Cousin Y 5 Substitutes D Furman 5 (for Thomson, 52min), J C Darcheville (for Cousin, 85) Not used G Smith, K Boyd, D Beasley, S Lennon, J McMillan

Dundee (4-4-2) L Zaluska 5 D Grainger 5 D Dods 6 L Wilkie Y 6 M Kovacevic 5 M Gomis 7 M Kerr 6 D Robertson 5 W Flood Y 5 N Hunt 6 M De Vries Y 7 Substitutes D Swanson 6 (for Flood, 65min), S Robb (for Gomis, 84), J O’Brien (for Kovacevic, 89) Not used K Camaara, S Dillon, J Daly, K Smith

Referee M McCurry
Attendance 30,293