Jo Potter was shown a red card in Rangers’ 2-1 derby win over Celtic – sparking a ‘perplexed’ reaction from former Gers Women boss Amy McDonald.
Rangers won the derby to move onto the SWPL Cup final but as is increasingly the case when these two teams meet, the big headlines came off the pitch. Boss Potter was red carded shortly after Rangers’ second goal when she balanced the ball on her foot after it went out for a throw-in, refusing to give it to a Celtic player attempting to retrieve it to hurry up play. Potter then handed the ball to her player Lizzie Arnot to take the throw, but ref Abbie Hendry decided her antics merited a straight red card.
It was a tough day at the office for the inexperienced whistler who was only made one of the SFA‘s FIFA referees nine days before the derby. She also booked a confused Elena Sadiku in the second half, but it was Potter’s red card that sparked most of the post-match confusion. The Ibrox boss herself looked bewildered and co-commentator McDonald, who spoke on BBC Alba’s punditry after the game, was amazed.
The TV station explained it as a straight red card for ‘holding up play.’ But McDonald, who managed them between 2017 and 2019, wasn’t having that. She said: “I haven’t seen it but it looks like Jo thought it was going to be a Rangers throw-in. There’s no physical aggression, there’s nothing in that. OK, she’s holding onto the ball.
“I don’t know if there was something before that or they’d spoken about it. But I just think the ref was quite quick to give the red card. The assistant is right there so if there’s more context to be given, then give it.
“Not long after that, I thought ‘oh no’ as she ran up to Elena too. I thought ‘please don’t’ then it was a yellow. I honestly hope we get more context because I’m absolutely perplexed.”
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