Former SFA Referee Validates Rangers' Grievance Against Celtic

Rangers will look to emulate last weekend's dominating display against Celtic when they once again their cross-town rivals once again this Sunday.

The Gers completely outplayed the visitors on the previous occasion credit to Derek McInnes' tactical masterclass.

McInnes' men almost crippled the Hoops' midfield during their League Cup encounter, as James Penrice made sure to keep Benjamin Nygren quiet throughout the game.

The Celts' summer aquisition Mika Baur was also unable to have any positive impact on the game, rather he was the subject of a controversial decision where the German caught Ryan Naderi on the shin with his studs but referee Nick Walsh awarded a free-kick to the visitors.

Rangers certainly wanted a VAR intervention on the occasion as they claimed foul play on Baur but the on-field referee's decision remained final as the Celtic midfielder escaped without any booking.

Now according to SFA referee Bobby Madden's recent opinion on the incident, Celtic's Mika Baur should have been shown a yellow card for that challenge for which the Celts were awarded a free-kick.

Madden explained the decision on his So near yet so VAR podcast (h/t Daily Record) saying, "The first thing to be upset about is that the free-kick went to Celtic.
"Then, I think you can see that Naderi loses his balance, slips a little, the ball goes behind his leg and then Baur comes in and makes the challenge."

The experienced referee also dropped his opinion on whether it was a red card offence or not saying, "You are saying, yes, we have seen red card challenges for contact that high up the leg, but we always need to consider the criteria for serious foul play - speed, intensity, force, malice and endangering the safety of an opponent.
"If you look at this incident in it's entirety, it doesn't endanger an opponent, there is no malice, yes the contact is on the shin - but it's not a red card offence. I believe it's a yellow card for reckless, and showing a disregard for the opponent, and the free kick obviously should have gone to Rangers. But it's not a red card offence."

There has been multiple incidents of controversial refereeing decisions during the plethora of Old Firm fixtures of the past but with VAR coming into play, it is expected that any refereeing misjudgement will be corrected by the officials sitting in front of the screens.

The Gers would certainly hope for a flawless refereeing next Sunday when they take on the Hoops without the support their fans inside a noisy atmosphere at Celtic Park.