IT was an Old Firm clash with no shortage of major talking points.
And thankfully it isn’t just former top Scottish ref Bobby Madden who has been weighing in on the matter, he’s polled some of his friends too – and they just happen to be top foreign Fifa referees.
We told you in the hours after the game how Madden cast his own expert eye over the big decisions including the red card shown to Thelo Aasgaard which left Rangers to play the entirety of the second half and extra-time with 10 men.
Then there was Nick Walsh’s decision to flash yellow rather than red to Auston Trusty for kicking Jack Butland in the head – and the lack of a second booking for Tony Ralston despite his handball that led to Rangers’ penalty.
And a challenge from Derek Cornelius on Johnny Kenny which the officiating team thought was worthy of a yellow – but did catch the striker on the ankle.
Rangers certainly AREN’T happy – with Patrick Stewart still ‘unsatisfied’ with the answers he’s got from SFA referees chief Willie Collum on the matter.
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Madden’s own views on the matter were that Aasgaard deserved to go, Trusty should have walked, and that a penalty and NO yellow card were correct in the case of Ralston – and as he asked for his followers to give their own opinions, he’s revealed that his panel of seven foreign Fifa referees basically agreed with that assessment.
Only one of the seven referees asked thought the Trusty incident was anything OTHER than a red card, while the Cornelius challenge on Johnny Kenny sparked a little debate with five of those asked weighing in that a yellow was sufficient.
Madden wrote on his Instagram account: “Give yourselves a huge pat on the back, you got them all correct!
“Not just my opinion, but that of seven top foreign FIFA referees.
“I like to share my initial thoughts, but like to challenge them to ensure I’m not losing the place amongst the madness.
“Their scores for those interested.
“Red given 7-0. Trusty incident 6-1. Penalty given 7-0.
“Maeda challenge. 7-0.
“Cornelius Challenge 5-2.
“The only one with any real debate and would support onfield decision either way, preference for yellow though.
“That settles it. So in the end only one error which would be difficult to detect live, yes I know, VAR …”
Madden ended his post with a hope that everyone can now move on and enjoy the festive period, even if that seems a rather forlorn hope.
He wrote: “Let’s all move on. Merry Christmas one and all.”
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