Ex-FIFA official slams Rangers penalty from Willie Collum vs Kilmarnock and gets Stephen Craigan’s name wrong live on BT Sport
Rangers were “very fortunate” to be awarded a penalty against Kilmarnock for a handball against Ryan Alebiosu, according to Peter Walton.
The former FIFA assistant and long-time English Premier League referee claimed that the decision was not a “clear and obvious” error and the time it took Willie Collum to make the decision made it a bad one.
Walton then induced roars of laughter from the pundits’ panel in the BT Sport studio as he got Stephen Craigan’s name wrong while summing up his dissatisfaction with the events at Ibrox, as Rangers went 3-0 up.
Speaking live on BT Sport Score on Saturday (4 March, 3.47pm) Walton said: “I think Rangers are very fortunate to get a penalty kick there. Yes there was a slight contact. The Rangers player never even felt it he just carried on running.
“As Craig’s just said there, two minutes at the monitor is far too long, that wasn’t a clear an obvious error in my mind.”
Jules Breach responded: “I love that you’ve just called Stephen Craigan ‘Craig’. His name’s Stephen.”
“I beg your pardon,” replied Walton, “It may be Stephen on the screen but in the green room we call him something different.”
To a chorus of laughter from Chris Sutton and the panel Breach said: “Oh really now? I don’t know about that one.”
Who?
Perhaps Craigan is a figure of fun in the BT Sport studios or perhaps Walton had just got himself tied up in nots.
It looked a pretty clear handball and only the fact that Ryan Kent running alongside Alebiosu didn’t appeal made it seem like a surprise.
Antonio Colak certainly appealed and that may be what drew the video assistant’s view to it, but it proves that even when VAR actually intervenes as it is supposed to there will still be those who aren’t satisfied.
And it is a good thing that it was noticed because the way Rangers came out in the second half, if their lead had only been by two goals then there would have been a significant risk of them throwing it away entirely.
Having been so comfortable in the first half they completely let it slip for a significant period when they came back out, and a 2-0 lead would have been very precarious once Jeriel Dorsett pulled one back, but they did hold on to win 3-1.
It was a weird game, so heavily of two halves that it is difficult for fans to feel overly impressed by the good parts when the poor ones were such a massive drop off, but for all the use it does in the league it was another three points for Michael Beale.
In other Rangers news, a BBC Sport journalist slammed the performance as boos rang around Ibrox.