Callum O'Connell

Mon 27 November 2023 11:10, UK

James McFadden hit out at Todd Cantwell after the Rangers midfielder theatrically threw himself to the ground attempting to buy a free kick in the first half of the clash with Aberdeen.

Rangers had fallen a goal behind early in the game and the Englishman’s attempts to drag his team back into the game led to a dramatic attempt to win a free kick on the edge of the box.

Cantwell has often been criticised for diving, or going down easily, since arriving at Ibrox and has led to a long-running dispute between himself and Chris Sutton as a result.

McFadden slammed the midfielder live on Sky Sports Main Event [26 November, 12:12], stating: “That is ridiculous. That is absolutely ridiculous from Todd Cantwell. I mean, he’s a good player, but you don’t want to be seeing that.”

A desperate attempt to make something happen

Rangers had been struggling to create chances, with any attacking progress they made quickly put to an end by a succession of fouls, perhaps leading to Cantwell attempting to buy one from the defence on the edge of the box to set up a possible shot.

To give Cantwell the benefit of the doubt, he skipped between two Aberdeen players and perhaps expected a touch and he threw himself over, with his leg hooked out searching for contact, although that contact never came and led to him being rightfully admonished by the commentator.

It has become somewhat of a running theme of Cantwell’s Ibrox spell that he seems to go down softly more often than not, and whether you’d call them dives or attempts to buy free kicks, it’s a source of frustration to all of those watching.

While these sorts of fouls and attempts to deceive the referee have become more of a part of the game lately, it’s still not what you want to be seeing from a player who has enough quality not to have to resort to these antics.

In other Rangers news, Gary Keown responded to jibes from Celtic chiefs.