Nick Walsh defended over Celtic red card decision vs Rangers as verdict given on Hearts VAR controversy

This weekend’s Old Firm clash saw Rangers hopes of winning the title officially ended after a third successive defeat. However, many supporters were left incensed when referee Nick Walsh opted not to send off the Canadian international for a high tackle on Moore with the score locked at 1-1.

Danny Rohl’s men went on to lose the game comfortably thanks to a Daizen Maeda double, though VAR was once again at the centre of the drama, with two major decisions going against the visitors on a frantic afternoon at Parkhead. However, despite Gallagher’s insistence that Johnston should have seen red, he offered an unusual defence of referee Walsh, insisting that VAR officials John Beaton and Chris Graham had not shown him a crucial angle of the incident.

“Seriously, when you look at this it’s a red card all day,” said Gallagher. “But the first angle, I didn’t think it was a red card. What I will say in the referee and VAR’s defence, that [second] clip became available at half-time. It was never ever available during the game. So it is impossible to recommend a review, which it definitely would have and it definitely would have been a red card. But it is too late, at half-time the game has already restarted.

However, Sky Sports claimed that the VAR referee did have all the angles available to himself when the incident took place. “I was watching the game, and that was not shown as a replay at the time,” said the former referee. “The first time anybody saw that [angle of the foul] was at half-time, including the pundits. So suddenly at half-time they’re saying ‘wow’. The first time they would have saw that clip was at half-time. If they don’t it to him, he can’t act on it, can he? It’s 100 a red card. He gets a touch on the ball, I don’t think there’s any intention to hurt him, but he’s just got the tackle wrong.

“I don’t understand why they wouldn’t do that [show him that angle],” blasted co-host Jay Bothroyd. “The magnitude of the game, in that game with Rangers-Celtic-Hearts at the top of the league. Surely you want to get that decision right? Surely you want to give the officials all the tools to make the correct decision” to which Gallagher responded: “It was definitely not replayed during the game.”

The 68-year-old former referee was also asked for his thoughts on the decision not to award Hearts’ winger Alexandros Kyziridis a penalty after he went down in the 66th minute after a challenge from Tawanda Maswanhise inside the box against Motherwell on Saturday. After the tackle, referee Steven McLean stopped the game and was asked to review the incident by VAR official Greg Aitken, but decided there wasn't enough to merit a spot-kick.

“I wasn’t convinced to be honest,” said Gallagher. “He steps across the defender, the defender is doing everything to get out of his way. It is a coming together with the forward more than a foul. He goes to the screen with three options, doesn’t he? He can go ‘I’m sticking with my decision’, which he did, or he can give a penalty, or he can even say the player dived, which he didn’t.

“He’s got all options on the table. What I would say is we ask many, many time ‘why aren’t they sending the referee to have a look’. Well, they did sent him and he’s decided that watching on the screen. Don’t forget, watching that, the vote is 1-1 isn’t it? The referee says no, the VAR says yes possibly, and the referee has backed himself.”

Former Cardiff City and England striker Bothroyd agreed with Gallagher, saying he felt Kyziridis was looking for the spot kick. “I think it’s a little bit soft,” said Bothroyd. “If there was real contact, he would go down straight away. The fact that he’s taken another step then gone down tells me he’s looking for it. Rather than him feeling the contact and going down straight away.

“Again, we just spoke about referees taking responsibility. He’s made a decision there, he’s taken responsibility and stuck to his decision and I tend to agree with him. If he goes down straight away, there’s obvious contract. But when you see him put his foot down again, and then he takes a bad touch. I think he is looking for it. The initial contact would probably push you to the side, not forwards. There might have been a little bit of contact, but it was minimal.”

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