Jo Potter reckons she was only sent off in Rangers‘ win over Celtic because ref Abbie Hendry didn’t want to look ‘silly’ – and says even the fourth official told her it wasn’t a red card.
The Rangers boss was sent to the stand in a bizarre incident shortly after her team’s second goal in the 2-1 Sky Sports Cup semi-final win. The ball went out for a throw-in near her dugout and she refused to give it to a Celtic player attempting to retrieve it to hurry up play. She balanced the ball on her foot, then twirled it round her back before handing the ball to her player Lizzie Arnot to take the throw. And re 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. And a spiky Potter, who was visibly confused at the decision, didn’t hold back after the game.
Speaking to the club’s in-house media, she claimed her side were up against it on ‘many levels’ in an apparent dig at the whistler. Then, speaking to PLZ Soccer, she went into more detail. “Apparently I held the ball behind my back,” Potter said. “I think she’s got it wrong. I didn’t hold the ball behind my back, I twisted it round my back. It was our throw-in, I’m not sure why I can’t hold the ball on our throw-in to give the ball to my own player.
“So I’ll maybe wait for an explanation. If we’re ever going to get one, I’m not too sure. But we’ll see where that one goes.
“I looked towards the fourth official and she was saying ‘at most, it’s a yellow. It’s not a red card.’ The ref obviously disagreed because she’d got the card out of her pocket very quickly. She looks a bit silly if she puts it back in and changes it.”
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