Referee obstructs Scott Arfield in ridiculous 1st-half event at Rangers v Motherwell
Scott Arfield was obstructed by Don Robertson in comedic fashion in the first half of Rangers versus Motherwell at Ibrox on Sunday when a high ball landed directly on his head.
Match commentators Tom Miller and Kevin Thomson were left bemused by the official’s involvement as he completely lost the flight of the ball and failed to get out of the way.
With the ball dropping as the visitors looked to clear an early corner, it appeared to be landing perfectly for the Gers midfielder to unleash a return volley on goal until Robertson got involved.
An incredulous Miller said on the RangersTV match broadcast: “He’s not looking at the ball. Why not look at the ball and step away from the ball?”
To add to the confusion, the referee then awarded a free kick to Motherwell, prompting Thomson to ask: “Surely that’s Rangers’ ball Tom? It was going to Scott Arfield. It’s a drop ball surely?”
Ridiculous to sublime
Despite the 12th man in the way of the earlier sequence the home side soon took control of the situation.
Great work from Ryan Kent twice in a couple of minutes put Gers into a comfortable lead.
First he whipped a cross in from the right wing which Alfredo Morelos beat Bevis Mugabe to turn past the scrambling Liam Kelly in the Well goal.
Moments later he showed quick feet on the left side of the area to leave the visitors’ defence flat-footed, before playing the ball across for Fashion Sakala to fire a great finish back across the keeper.
The Zambian was one of two changes from the line up which secured the 2-2 draw against Dortmund in midweek and took full advantage of his opportunity.
With Celtic dropping points at Hibernian earlier in the day, a win for the Light Blues will reduce the Hoops’ lead at the top of the SFPL to a single point.
Three points at Ibrox will top off an excellent week’s work for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side, after the European result was secured on Thursday.
In other Rangers news, a pair of key men have been tipped for transfer approaches from big clubs.