Stephen Craigan destroys Rangers star Todd Cantwell after incident in first half v Motherwell
Stephen Craigan has destroyed Todd Cantwell live on air after an incident involving the Rangers star and the referee in the first half of Gers’ clash with Motherwell.
The Light Blues headed into the break on Sunday (24 December) at Fir Park 2-0 up thanks to early strikes from Kieran Dowell and Cantwell to move within two points of table-toppers Celtic with a game in hand on the Hoops.
While Cantwell received plenty of praise for his excellent finish in the opening period, Stephen Craigen was not impressed when the Englishman ran across the pitch to urge the referee to book Shane Blaney for a foul on Cyriel Dessers.
Speaking on BBC Sportsound (24 December, 12:12) he said: “The referee is speaking to Todd Cantwell because it’s a foul, I agree and if he gives a yellow card, I have no problem with it.
“But Todd Cantwell has run 30 yards to point at the referee and tell him to book him. I think if Todd Cantwell looks after his job and allows the referee to look after his, the game will be smooth the game will move on.
“I don’t think there was any need for that.”
Unnecessary
It’s safe to say that somehow Cantwell managed to take Craigan’s advice on board as only minutes after the BBC Sport pundit produced his small rant, the Englishman found the net for his second goal of the Scottish Premiership season.
The 25-year-old is always a subject of criticism from pundits and players and often deservedly so, but it feels as though he was right to suggest a card should have been shown for the foul on Dessers as Blaney flew into the challenge incredibly rashly.
Whether or not Cantwell needed to run 30 yards across the pitch to wave a finger at the referee is completely open to debate and it clearly did very little to change the referee’s mind. But that sort of tenacity and drive is what makes the Rangers star such an important player.
After a difficult start under the management of Clement, the 25-year-old finally looks to be getting up to speed with what’s required of him at Ibrox under the Belgian. Hopefully, his strike on Sunday will be the start of a goalscoring streak this season.
In other Rangers news, one ex-FA official has accused Ross McCausland of cheating in a clash earlier this season