Kris Commons shares his view on referee decisions in Hibernian v Rangers
Kris Commons has suggested that the decision to send Rangers midfielder John Lundstram off against Hibernian was “ridiculous”.
Writing on the Scottish Daily Mail (22 August, verdict – page 7) the Sky Sports pundit suggested that referee Willie Collum has a “bizarre habit” of blowing whistles too quickly, and branded him as “sub-standard”.
While Commons feels that sending Alfredo Morelos was the right decision, the referee got it horribly wrong in sending Lundstram off. He adds that Ryan Kent should be blamed for putting the midfielder in that position.
“Referee Collum was at the centre of a lot of the controversy — and I could understand why. While his decision to dismiss Morelos was entirely correct, some of his other decisions were ridiculous.
“Lundstram’s was never a red card. It was just a classic example of a player sliding in to commit a cynical foul and stop a counter-attack. It wasn’t reckless or violent at all.
“More than that, the blame for that whole incident should be with Ryan Kent. He had the chance to either play Borna Barisic in on the overlap or have a shot himself. But he did neither. Instead, he dilly-dallied and played a poor pass back to Lundstram, which put his team-mate in a world of trouble as Martin Boyle raced away on the counter-attack.
“Hibs midfielder Jake Doyle-Hayes committed an almost identical foul on Lundstram in the first half, yet Collum only showed him a yellow card. I saw very little difference in those two incidents. Collum has this bizarre habit of blowing his whistle incessantly even for the most innocuous of incidents.
“It’s as if he seems to think that demonstrates his control over the match. But, if anything, it’s quite the opposite. It just makes him look like a sub-standard referee who craves attention.”
Ridiculous
Commons is absolutely spot on here. There is no complaint from the Gers fans about Morelos’s dismissal, which James Tavernier himself described as “stupid”.
However, the Gers have every right to be furious with the decision to send Lundstram off. There was no malice involved, and it was not a red card by any means.
It is indeed frustrating that the Bears couldn’t hold on to their 2-1 lead, and conceded a late goal that ended their perfect start to the season.
The Gers will have to pick themselves up and get themselves ready for the big clash ahead against PSV Eindhoven.
Rangers managed a 2-2 draw against PSV in the first leg, and they face the daunting task of picking up a win away from home in Holland.
All eyes will be on Morelos who could be asked to lead the line in the second leg. If Van Bronckhorst drops him again from the starting line-up, surely his future will come under scrutiny.
In other Rangers news, this Ibrox star has been dubbed as a realistic late summer signing for Aston Villa.