Despite their side serving up an impressive 3-0 Glasgow derby victory yesterday, Rangers fans have been consistent in their claims that Celtic captain Callum McGregor should have been sent off in the match.
The central midfielder, already on a yellow card, was involved in some handbags with stand-in Gers skipper Nicolas Raskin towards the end of the first half.
The Belgian looked to have grabbed the neck of McGregor and was resultantly booked for doing so, although many of a Rangers mindset think the Hoops skipper should’ve received a second booking for the incident.
Speaking to RecordSport, however, Des Roache, who previously refereed across the division and cup competitions in Scotland, explained why McGregor stayed on the park: “[Raskin was] sucked in by McGregor,” he said.
“He grabs his shirt high up in an aggressive manner. Yellow card, and [it] shows how involved Raskin is today. [He] needs to be careful in [the] second half. Was McGregor lucky to avoid a yellow? No. He was ok there. Raskin was the silly one.”
Raskin’s post-match claims that McGregor not also being booked for the incident was ‘weird’ and ‘unfair’ appear inaccurate now. Don Robertson got this one right and, in honesty, had a rather quiet day at the office, which was surprising given how things usually are on derby day in Glasgow.
No decision yesterday can hide Celtic’s poor performance, though. They weren’t at the races and showed nowhere near the fight, desire, and heart required to win a derby at the home of their fiercest rivals.
Brendan Rodgers and Co. will lick their wounds ahead of facing St. Mirren on Sunday.
