Andy Halliday rages over Rangers incident v St Mirren after ‘nonsense’ Celtic comparison emerges
Andy Halliday has been left baffled by the “nonsense” decision to book Rangers keeper Jack Butland in the Light Blues’ win over St Mirren.
Philippe Clement’s side got back to winning ways in the Premiership with a 2-1 win on Sunday (28 April) thanks to an own goal from James Bolton before Cyriel Dessers secured the three points with a header.
While Butland impressed with a number of excellent saves, the Englishman received a yellow card for a tackle on Toyosi Olusanya.
The challenge was not too dissimilar to one on Fabio Silva in the Old Firm derby against Celtic at Ibrox which saw a penalty awarded but Halliday doesn’t think the two incidents are comparable.
Speaking on the Open Goal YouTube channel (30 April, 52:00) he said: “Let me tell you the difference before we get lost in absolute nonsense here. There’s a loose ball into the box that Fabio Silva is getting onto.
“Jack Butland booted the ball about 80 yards up the pitch!”
Will Rangers beat Celtic to the Scottish Premiership title after Jack Butland heroics?
Luckily for Clement’s side, the booking occurred so late on in the game that it ultimately didn’t really impact proceedings. Had the resulting free-kick found the net all hell could well have broken lose on the pitch.
What the Gers stopper went into the book for what was ultimately nothing more than a coming together. Butland won the ball cleanly and accidentally coincided with the man afterwards completely accidentally.
The officials in Scotland have come in for a lot of criticism in recent months and this is just another example of their inability to get the most basic of calls right. They simply have to be better in the most important moments.
While some will argue Butland’s challenge was no better than the one on Silva in the Old Firm derby, where the Portuguese was branded a cheat by Chris Sutton, there is quite clearly a major difference between the incidents.
In other Rangers news, the Gers have been tipped to hold out for £10million for James Tavernier amid Saudi transfer interest
For more Rangers news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.