A prominent former ref has given his view on the Hyeongyu Oh incident against Kilmarnock that left the opposition manager full of complaints.
The Celtic striker was the centre of attention after Celtic’s 4-1 mauling of Kilmarnock when Derek McInnes bemoaned the fact that he thought Oh should have been red-carded for a challenge on Liam Donnelly.
I have already said I don’t believe the challenge was befitting of an ordering-off, but don’t take my word for it.
Here’s former FIFA referee Dermot Gallagher giving his opinion on the matter.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Gallagher said, “I think yellow card. It is reckless. The referees got it absolutely right. It’s a high boot.
“But he doesn’t know the players there. The player puts his head in, comes into his [Oh’s] space, but he shouldn’t have his foot that high.
“He doesn’t lead with the studs. He doesn’t go to injure anybody. He doesn’t see the player coming. So a yellow card for me.”
When asked what the correct wording of the rules are, Gallagher explained, “Careless, free kick only. Reckless, free kick and yellow card. Dangerous, free kick and red card.”
The former FIFA ref was then asked if a boot in the head is not dangerous, Gallagher goes on to clarify, “I think that’s reckless. I think it’s not a boot in the head, is it? It’s a boot that may hit his head, but it didn’t.”
Now, I get the crux of McInnes’ argument here. He is basically having a go at the consistency of VAR as his team have suffered a similar incident.
But even he knows that if Oh was sent off, it would not have made a blind bit of difference to the final score. Or his team’s performance for that matter.
And for all the Kilmarnock manager has moaned about the refereeing technology, the men in charge of VAR have got this decision correct.
The challenge was reckless. Oh doesn’t see the Kilmarnock player as he is so focused on the ball. That’s the difference between reckless and dangerous.
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