Former SFA referee Des Roache reckons that the decision to not dish out a second yellow card to Celtic captain Callum McGregor for a clash with Nicolas Raskin was the right call.
Temperatures surged at Ibrox before the break as the stand-in Rangers captain confronted McGregor after referee Don Robertson had blown the half-time whistle – with the home side taking a lead into the breakthrough Ianis Hagi’s low drive. The pair were seen grabbing each other by their jerseys as Hoops’ skipper McGregor smirked before the Belgian midfielder was held back by teammate Vaclav Cerny.
Robertson opted to flash a yellow card to the Light Blues’ man while McGregor – who was already on a booking – went back into the dressing room without a punishment. Speaking to BBC Sportsound, Leanne Crichton attempted to explain the call from the man in the middle stating: “Callum McGregor is on a yellow card.
“So to allow himself to become embroiled in that – normally the referee would just flash a yellow card at both players and nip it in the bud. Obviously he has had to make the decision that it was more Raskin.”
And speaking to Record Sport about the incident, former whistler Roache said: “(Raskin was) Sucked in by McGregor. He grabs his shirt high up in an aggressive manner. Yellow card and shows how involved Raskin is today. Needs to be careful in second half. Was McGregor lucky to avoid a yellow? No. He was ok there. Raskin was the silly one.”
Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football.