Former English Premier League referee Mark Halsey has criticised the decision not to send off Devante Cole during the recent Celtic clash against Motherwell.
Cole appeared to kick out at Bhoys midfielder Ismaila Soro, leaving him in a heap on the ground.
The incident happened very late in the match so didn’t have much bearing on the outcome, but it still should have been a red card.
Cole only received a yellow, setting an example of the kind of challenges you can get away in Scottish football.
Halsey is a former FIFA-listed whistler and refereed in the Premier League between 2009 and 2013.
He told website This Is Futbol: “For me, I think it’s an absolute clear red card. I think the assistant is right there as well. Kicking or attempting to kick an opponent is an act of violent conduct and Celtic were absolutely spot on, it was a red card offence for violent conduct.
“It’ll be interesting to see in the coming days what happens with the Motherwell player.”
It backs up the view of Celtic supporters, who were incensed with the incident in the aftermath of the match, as we discussed yesterday.
There’s been some strange officiating going around the Scottish Premiership of late, both on the pitch and on the retrospective Scottish FA panel.
That’s clear enough to former English refs as well it seems.
As always, we live in eternal hope that Scottish football can get itself together on refereeing and discipline issues.
While incidents like this keep happening though, it seems further away than ever.
In other news, fans have been reacting to the Fergal Harkin news.
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