Numan unhappy with 'diving' Van Hooijdonk

The recriminations have already begun at Ibrox following Rangers' exit from the Uefa Cup to Feyenoord in Rotterdam on Thursday night.

Arthur Numan branded the Feyenoord striker Pierre van Hooijdonk "a diver", while Ronald de Boer described his team-mate Neil McCann as "stupid" for getting sent off.

Van Hooijdonk scored two crucial goals in the first half, both from free-kicks, and Numan was convinced the German referee Herbert Fandel had been conned. He said: "We knew before the game van Hooijdonk would try to get those free-kicks by diving. And I think he did it well again.

"But he shouldn't have had those free-kicks to take in the first place. For the first one he dived and at the second one Tony Vidmar took the ball."

Rangers had been pressing for an equaliser at the time of McCann's dismissal and 3-3 on the night would have sent them through on away goals. McCann, having been booked in the first half, picked up a second yellow for arguing with the referee just 15 minutes before the end.

De Boer said: "The referee was horrendous but it is your job not to be influenced by him. I think we didn't handle that so well. Of course you can talk to him but to say 'you're right' is sometimes better than to shout. Neil was stupid but he only said that the free-kick should have gone the other way."

Elsewhere, Hapoel Tel-Aviv's surprising and historic 2-1 win against Parma, who won the Uefa Cup in 1995 and 1999, in Italy was greeted joyously by the Israeli press.

Hapoel's victory marked the first time an Israeli team had progressed so far in a European tournament. The two teams had drawn 0-0 in Tel-Aviv last Thursday, and Hapoel advanced 2-1 on aggregate. Hapoel also knocked Chelsea out of the competition.

"Parma paid the price of complacency," wrote the former Israeli national coach Shlomo Sharf in Yediot Ahronot. "We are proud of Hapoel, who gave us many moments of joy in their game against Parma, with the determination and character they showed."

The Italian paper, Gazetta dello Sport, said Parma's coach Pietro Carmignani paid the price for being "stingy" in sparing too many of the team's stars – such as striker Marco Di Vaio, who was brought on when Hapoel were 2-0 up – for the team's Serie A commitments.