Dermot Gallagher reacts to Rangers controversy as ‘absolutely ballistic’ Celtic player proof spotted by Sky Sports pundit
Don Robertson was “absolutely correct” to allow the Rangers opener against Celtic to stand on the pitch because there “certainly” wasn’t a foul in the build up, according to Dermot Gallagher.
The former Premier League referee reacted on Sky Sports Monday (4 September) to footage of Kemar Roofe’s goal laid on by Cyriel Dessers at Ibrox on Sunday, which was disallowed for a foul by the Nigerian on Gustaf Lagerbielke after a VAR review.
But Gallagher saw no reason for the striker to be ruled out, as Sky Sports pundits Stephen Warnock and Sue Smith agreed, with the former pointing out that Lagerbielke was rounded on by an “absolutely ballistic” teammate due to his error to show the players knew it wasn’t a foul.
Gallagher said: “I think the referee’s got it absolutely correct on the pitch, I don’t think it’s a foul. I think Dessers gets in front of him…”
“Almost, he was fouled,” cut in host Rob Wotton.
“Yeah,” Gallagher continued, “he gets in front of him, he’s committed no foul at that point. All I can think, when [Robertson] goes to the screen, is he thinks he pushes him.
“But I think if the VAR hadn’t intervened nobody would have been really been [bothered].”
“So why did they?” asked Wotton.
“I’ve no idea Rob,” the ex-ref replied. “As I say, if you look at it again all I think is they think [Dessers] has pushed him, an upper-body push, but it’s certainly not a foul with his feet.”
Warnock said, when asked if the goal should have stood: “100%. You can see one of the Celtic centre-backs reacts to it and goes absolutely ballistic at his teammate for dwelling on the ball. You can read body language as well, players understand what is a foul and what’s not a foul.”
“Should have been a goal. Yeah, definitely,” added Sue Smith.
Poor
It has to be a pretty bad decision for Gallagher to not back the referee but Robertson came up with one, with the outcome all the more baffling because the official had got it right in the first place.
In a derby as heated as the Old Firm you would be hard pressed to find agreement on a call as contentious as that, but no Celtic fan would happily have seen that given as a foul in reverse.
And ruling a potentially crucial goal like that out for such a soft reason will only incentivise players to pretend there has been an infringement whenever they commit a critical error.
It’s too late now and yet another derby has gone by with the dual themes of Rangers underperformance and Rangers’ feeling of injustice.
If the Light Blues performed better they perhaps wouldn’t be left to rue the officials so often, but since Michael Beale arrived he has only been clearly in the ascendancy in one Old Firm out of six.
He can point to individual errors, as well as refereeing decisions more than once, but ultimately that record is miserable and could now prove to be his undoing.
In other Rangers news, Chris Sutton reacted to the news that the Gers are to demand answers from the SFA over the latest issue.