Rangers midfielder John Lundstram was sent off in the 47th minute of the game after a VAR review for his horror challenge on Alistair Johnston.
Referee Willie Collum initially deemed the tackle to be a yellow, despite Lundstram getting none of the ball and making a horrible studs contact on Johnston’s leg.
🟥 "That's never a red card!"
🗣️ "He's out of control there."John Lundstram was sent off after a VAR check. Your thoughts? Watch Celtic vs Rangers LIVE on @SkyFootball 📺 pic.twitter.com/WBUOi3KUXA
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) May 11, 2024
What Collum was thinking in not sending the Englishman off immediately remains to be seen, as it was clearly a red card, with the exception of Kenny Miller on commentary who believed it to be worthy of a yellow card.
Collum’s announcement of being the official for the game was met with some criticism from fans of Celtic and Rangers, but ultimately, it was the unlikely figure of Steven McLean on VAR who made sure that Collum went to the monitor to review his initial decision.
VAR will likely come out of the incident as the hero, with Collum himself likely to come under further scrutiny for his ability to referee games at the highest level of Scottish football.
As seen with Daizen Maeda’s sending off in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid, which had considerably less contact, if that incident was a red card, Lundstram’s this afternoon was most definitely a clear red card.
Yet again, Scottish referees leave themselves open to criticism, particularly when Celtic are involved, with some questionable decisions throughout the season.
