Card-happy referee Marco Di Bello dished out seven yellow cards as he took charge of the Europa League match between Rangers and FCSB.

The Italian official was also at the centre of attention after a huge call just minutes into the match with an FCSB goal ruled out for a foul on Jack Butland.

David Miculescu pressed the goalkeeper quickly and looked to have pinched the ball to prod into an empty net after just four minutes.

Ally McCoist branded Butland the "luckiest man on the planet" as whistler Di Bello blew for a foul from the forward player.

The pundit remarked: "I think he has given a free-kick and I am not sure it is," said McCoist.

"First thing you have got to say, far too many touches. I'll tell you what, he's got away with one there, Jack Butland. 

"Two heavy touches, it's simply not a free-kick, it's as simple as that. It's a goal.

"Miculescu in my opinion doesn't do anything wrong, in fact he does just about everything right."

"See if he is thinking that [he would get a free-kick], he is the luckiest man on the planet, for me."

Replays showed Miculescu did collide with Butland and potentially even caught the goalkeeper on the foot but the general consensus was that Rangers were fortunate to escape conceding an early goal by the referee's whistle with the decision perhaps on the soft side.

A VAR check was carried out and the on-field decision of a free-kick was confirmed - much to the relief of Butland and the Ibrox support as the goalkeeper appeared to get away with one despite some contact from the forward.

Di Bello was quick to dismiss minor penalty appeals for Rangers with 15 minutes played. The ball did strike an FCSB defender on the arm but it was a supporting arm which connected the ball.

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Under guidelines that is not punishable for handball with the resulting corner instead awarded in a correct application by the official.

Luis Phelipe was first into the book for FCSB one minute later for a late challenge on Tom Lawrence. The midfielder swept away Lawrence's legs in a late tackle in the centre of the pitch and was correctly cautioned.

James Tavernier would then join Phelipe on the yellow card list as he was penalised for a foul on the FCSB goalkeeper. Tavernier was justified to try and win the ball but the keeper caught before he took a slight kick from the Rangers captain.

Marius Stefanescu was then booked after he had lost control and slid in and caught Lawrence who pinched the ball from him in midfield. A yellow was sufficient.

Referee Di Bello did somewhat put himself in the position of ruling every foul as a caution due to the frequency of reaching into his pocket in the first half.

Vaclav Cerny would suffer for that as he received a yellow for diving into a tackle on 37 minutes.

Before the break, former St Mirren defender Mihai Popescu was cautioned for a tug on Cerny who looked to break clear. It was a minor pullback but worthy of a caution.

Alexandru Baluta would be the next visiting player noted by Di Bello after a daft confrontation with John Souttar. The FCSB sub barged into the Rangers defender who did well to keep his composure and not react.

Connor Barron was unfortunate to pick up a yellow in the closing stages for a foul on the edge of the area. The midfielder could not dispute the decision as he caught his opponent with an accidental knee on foot collision.

However, Barron would have been frustrated with team-mate Robin Propper who played a slack pass to leave him scrambling to make a tackle.