Hibs leaning pundit blasts "dangerous" tackle on Celtic star last night

By John McGinley

October 28, 2021

Former Hibernian player Tam McManus has criticised “dangerous” Ryan Porteous for his tackle on Callum McGregor during last night’s match at Easter Road.

Porteous has gained a bit of a reputation for himself as a player who flies into tackles, without regard for the safety of his opponents.

Last night, the Hibs defender was booked for a rash tackle on Callum McGregor at the edge of the box, prompting outcry from many Celtic supporters.

And McManus, who had previously defended the player for an incident at Ibrox a few weeks ago, wasn’t happy with his conduct, writing on Twitter: “I defended Ryan stoutly for his tackle at Ibrox as felt he made a genuine attempt to win ball & no malice to hurt the player. But this is poor in my opinion & I said so at the time. Going back 2-3 seasons ago trying to win ball and leave a bit on player. Don’t like it at all & it’s dangerous.”

McManus was the co-commentator on Hibs TV and did express displeasure with the Porteous tackle, so fair play for him for calling it out.

This is just one of a number of poor challenges on Celtic players this season that seem to be going largely unpunished.

Last week, Tom Boyd was left fuming with an incident in the Motherwell match claiming players have a “free hit” at Celtic stars because of poor refereeing. Bevis Mugabi flew into David Turnbull and could well have caused a serious injury.

Other incidents at Tynecastle and against Dundee United have also frustrated Celtic supporters.

Scottish football has always had a bit of added physicality, but when are referees going to start protecting professionals?

In other news, Duffy, Sinclair, Benkovic and Hooper all react on Instagram as Scott Brown goal helps out Celtic.