Reason Elena Sadiku was sent off on Celtic Women bench in Rangers derby

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Celtic Women were on the receiving end of a harsh penalty call in their defeat to Rangers earlier this afternoon.

The Ghirls were narrowly beaten in the Glasgow derby at Hamilton Accies’ SuperSeal Stadium in a 3-2 loss at the top of the Scottish Women’s Premier League (SWPL).

The result saw Gers’ Women’s team go to the summit of the division with Elena Sadiku’s side sitting fourth with a game in hand.

But it was a disappointment from the team who twice had roared back to level proceedings before a winner was netted 12 minutes from time.

Elena Sadiku was shown a red card for sarcastically applauding the ref

Rangers had taken the lead through Rio Hardy’s early opener before Caitlin Hayes equalised with a header from close-range.

That is when the controversy kicked in during the fiery clash and head coach Sadiku was incredibly shown a red card and sent to the stands following two yellows.

The Swede was booked for dissent against referee Jamie Wilkie but, after the initial card, she sarcastically applauded the whistler after he had pointed to the spot for a questionable Rangers penalty.

And that was enough for the ref to put his hand in his pocket once again to send Sadiku off as Katie Wilkinson netted the resulting penalty.

A terrific free-kick from Saoirse Noonan levelled the game for a second time before an audacious volley from Chelsea Cornet would win the day for the visitors.

Celtic would have chances to square the tie but visiting goalkeeper Jenna Fife was in fine form.

Former Scotland manager Shelley Kerr felt the penalty kick was soft and admitted it could even have been a foul the other way on Celtic’s Shannon McGregor by Charlie Devlin.

What was said about Rangers being given a controversial penalty

She said: “It’s maybe a foul on Shannon McGregor here.

“However what I would say is, when you look at it, none of the players react!

“If you were Rangers you’d be screaming for a penalty. If you’re Celtic you’re remonstrating with the referee. There’s no reaction from the players which is really surprising for a game of this magnitude.”