BT Sport pundits react to bloody incident in Rangers Europa League final v Eintracht Frankfurt
Stephen Craigan was very surprised that Rangers favourite John Lundstram escaped punishment for a high boot in the Europa League final.
In the opening minutes in Seville, the Gers midfielder caught Eintracht Frankfurt captain Sebastian Rode on the head with his studs as the two went for the same ball near the German side’s area.
The result was a long break while the defender’s bloody wound was worked on by the medical staff, and he was eventually ready to continue, but while it looked like the Englishman could be in trouble he escaped without punishment entirely.
Commentator Rory Hamilton reacted first on the BT Sport match coverage (8.06pm), saying: “[Lundstram] was high with the boot on Sebastian Rode who’s taken a really nasty one to the head. John Lundstram offers his apologies here.”
Craigan then added: “It’s certainly a dangerous high boot from John Lundstram.”
Former Premier League referee Peter Walton was called in to offer his expert opinion and said: “In my opinion I don’t think it’s serious foul play. The Eintracht player has ducked down into the actual challenge from Lundstram. It’s more of a reckless challenge from Lundstram. I would be surprised if he doesn’t receive a yellow card for this.”
Hamilton said: “It’s certainly a horrible start for the Eintracht Frankfurt captain.”
After a significant delay in play former Rangers player Alex Rae praised the referee’s input, saying: “I think the referee had a part to play in that Rory because he seemed to calm it down fairly quickly.”
And when the action restarted Craigen was surprised with the final outcome: “I think it’s fair to say John Lundstram is very lucky he hasn’t received a yellow card.”
Lenient
There would have been a few hearts in mouths when the coming together occurred, and a few more when it was clear that Rode was streaming blood from a head injury.
It would have been crushing for the Light Blues to lose a crucial player so early, and would have ruined the spectacle for the neutral.
A red card would have surely been harsh, but it has been the outcome of such incidents in the past.
In the event it was surely lucky for the former Sheffield United player to continue without censure at all, but it was clearly the referee’s plan to avoid being the focus.
As the half drew towards a close he still hadn’t brandished a card to any player, and as long as nothing majorly controversial happens that will likely be a positive for the game.
If Big John ends up having a major say in the result though, there may be questions asked about how he avoided punishment for the early incident.
The timing and the importance of the game have surely worked in his favour on this occasion.
In other Rangers news, one Sky Sports pundit blasted the Prime Minister for his pre-match video directed at the team.