There will be no scathing letters sent from Govan to Hampden’s fifth floor this weekend. Nor will Patrick Stewart be posting a P45 through Philippe Clement’s mailbox after the under-pressure Belgian masterminded a long overdue derby triumph that may well have saved his job.
Rangers were quick to point the finger at the SFA as not one but two damning statements were unleashed in the wake of December’s controversial Premier Sports Cup Final defeat. Their grievances were backed up by Willie Collum as he publicly lamented bungling VAR officials Alan Muir and Frank Connor for failing to spot the stonewall penalty kick that proved so costly for Gers.
This time, the SFA’s ref chief tasked Don Robertson and VAR Nick Walsh with keeping a lid on an Ibrox Ne’er Day derby that some had flippantly labelled a dead rubber. And unlike last month’s explosive final, the team of officials at both Ibrox and Clydesdale House passed this test with flying colours.
Whisper it, but Robertson can head home from his third Old Firm powderkeg feeling fairly satisfied. Sure, there were a few debatable calls that will always have rival fans grumbling on social media. But over the piece, Robertson showcased his experience to see through the afternoon without any major hiccups. Put it this way, there were no boiling flashpoints like his last derby in September 2023 – where there was an outcry over his decision to chalk off Kemar Roofe’s goal for a foul on Gustaf Lagerbielke.
Aside from the unsavoury scenes at the end when Arne Engels was struck by an object from the stands, all of the headlines will be about Rangers tearing apart Brendan Rodgers’ runaway leaders with a thumping 3-0 victory – ending Clement’s winless six-game derby streak.
Former top-flight whistler Des Roache was on Ref Watch for Record Sport as he exclusively delivered his verdict on the seven key talking points.
AJ escapes a yellow
There was an accidental aerial collision as Ianis Hagi crumbled to the deck after being caught by Alistair Johnston’s forearm. Clement screamed for a red card on the touchline, but after a VAR check, Johnston escaped without a booking.
Des: I think he probably can count himself lucky. If Don had given it [a yellow card], I would have been perfectly accepting of it. He didn’t give it, so I’m accepting it. He didn’t use his arm as a tool or weapon. He’s used his arm to gain leverage and to protect himself at that moment in time. But you do run the risk at any point, if you are leading with the elbow, of attracting a caution.
McGregor first in the book
Derby veteran McGregor was the first to be cautioned just after the half hour mark after stopping Rangers – who were leading 1-0 at the time – from taking a quick free-kick.
Des: He’s delaying the restart of play but what he’s doing is showing a wily old head and just trying to kill the game. So it’s an obvious one. He would’ve taken that as a yellow card all day, but again as a referee, you’ve got to apply the laws of the game so by the laws of the game, he’s delaying the restart of the play so it’s a yellow card.
Kuhn’s war wounds
Nicolas Kuhn copped a bloody nose on the stroke of the interval after taking a smash from the elbow of Jefte. It looked a sore one but appeared to be completely accidental.
Des: It’s not a deliberate action. He’s actually using his arm to balance, but he has caught him. So therefore it’s reckless and dangerous rather than serious foul play or violent conduct. So I’m okay with the yellow for that.
Half-time handbags
The handbags were out at half-time as an animated Nicolas Raskin went head-to-head with McGregor. The Rangers midfielder was brandished a yellow and there was uproar in the stands as Ibrox fans called for McGregor to be punished with a second booking.
Des: It’s more a case of McGregor has sucked Raskin in there. But what Raksin has done, he’s grabbed him high up on the jersey in an aggressive manner so that’s got to be a yellow card. Would McGregor have been booked if he wasn’t already on a yellow? Not necessarily. Don only deals with what’s the issue at that moment in time. If Raskin hadn’t grabbed him by the jersey high up, Don would probably have walked in, split the two of them up and that’s it over and done with. But Raskin has been more aggressive and grabbed him, so that’s a yellow card for me. But I think Don has shown his experience. He’s non-flustered going about his business. There weren’t many fouls in the first-half, it took nine minutes for him to give the first one.
No goal Kyogo
Kyogo thought he’d levelled for the visitors early in the second-half after finding the net with a brilliant lob over Liam Kelly. But the celebrations were short-lived as the flag was up and VAR quickly confirmed the decision.
Des: The linesman called it first time, which is why the VAR then went for a check. So it was correctly called on the field of play. The assistant, Ross McLeod, deserves credit for that. There weren’t any overly long VAR checks and I think that was a factor in the game today. I don’t think Don actually had to come across the video monitor at any point. The team did extremely well, there won’t be any complaints at the end about anything that was controversial.
No Penalty to Rangers
Gers supporters behind the Copland goal screamed for a spotkick as Hamza Igamane’s shot deflected off Adam Idah’s hand and out for a corner, but the appeals were waved away.
Des: It was done and dusted again, very quickly. It happened in such close proximity to Idah, but his arm is by his side and his hand is by his body so there’s no way he can be punished by that for a handball.
Unsavoury scenes
Arne Engels was down on the deck holding his head after being struck by a coin from the home end. Celtic’s record signing was left with a mark close to his eye but, thankfully, managed to recover from the shameful incident and see out the rest of the game.
Des: He got across there straight away. You can see him and the assistant talking to see what had happened. They managed to get the coin, but the first thing they did before any of that was check on the welfare of the player. The player’s health is obviously the paramount of importance. Then it’s a case of what’s happened, get the facts and hand the object to the fourth official who then passes it on to the police then that’s their job done. They’ve just got to report the facts as they see it. At the time, Don didn’t get himself flustered. The whole process and protocol he showed was very good and very calm.
Final verdict
Des: I’d say that the whole refereeing team had a very good and efficient day. There won’t be any complaints about anything that was controversial. Throughout the whole game there were only four cautions, two for each side. Absolutely nobody but nobody is talking about Don after this game. So he can look to go home, have a glass of wine and relax because he deserves it. As I always say, the best referees are the ones you don’t notice.