Keith Hackett reacts to Kai Fotheringham complaints after red card in Rangers vs St Johnstone

Kai Fotheringham was sent off as Rangers beat St Johnstone 4-0 on Saturday afternoon.

Simo Valakari's team went down to 10 men in the 74th minute after the 23-year-old forward's challenge on Nicolas Raskin.

The Scotland youth international slid in to win the ball from the Belgian ace, but caught him in the follow-through.

Chris Graham initially didn't think Fotheringham's challenge warranted a sending off at Ibrox, but VAR Andrew Dallas intervened.

After having another look at the incident, the on-field referee produced a red card.

The St Johnstone attacker was seen pleading his innocence before and after being sent off, but he clearly had no argument.

Was Kai Fotheringham rightly sent off for St Johnstone?

Rangers dominated St Johnstone, with Kevin Kelsy, Ryan Naderi and Tochi Chukwuani getting on the scoresheet.

In the pouring rain, with the scoreline 3-0 at Ibrox after the Venezuela international's second of the game, Fotheringham lunged into Raskin.

While the winger clearly got the ball first, he then made contact around the Belgium international's shins.

The forward's actions constituted serious foul play and he was rightly sent off in Keith Hackett's opinion.

Speaking to Ibrox News, the ex-FIFA official said, "The referee has judged that the action of the player is serious foul play. He has judged this on the contact of the player's boot high on his opponent's leg.

"The player, in clearly wet conditions on his backside, is out of control. Makes contact with the ball and then the player's leg

"The fact that he made contact with the ball is frankly immaterial. Despite the claims of the player, the referee is left with no option but to issue a red card. Correct decision"

Rangers game in numbers vs St Johnstone

Rangers dominated proceedings for most of the game against St Johnstone.

Apart from a 15-minute spell after the break where the Gers seemed to lose a bit of control, the Saints were unable to do much.

The Light Blues recorded an xG of 4.57 compared to St Johnstone's 0.58 and dominated 61 per cent of possession, as per Sofascore.

Toby Steward pulled off six saves, one of which was impressive after denying Kelsy from close range.

The Glaswegian outfit had 12 corners and completed 517 passes.

Graham produced one yellow card each, with Badredine Bouanani going into the book in the final minutes.

While the sending-off was a massive moment in the game, the Govan side would've won easily even without it.