Michael Stewart has been perplexed by what some Rangers fans remarked regarding Ianis Hagi’s red card in the match against St Johnstone
The Romanian international’s comeback to first-team action was cut short on Sunday (6 October), when he received a straight red card for a risky challenge as the Light Blues won 2-0.
While some experts thought the aggressive midfielder was unlucky at initially, Premier Sports’ Stewart was left scratching his head after supporters felt a Celtic player would not have received a red card for the controversial challenge.
Speaking on The Scottish Football Social Club (7 October, 24:15), he stated, “I can’t believe certain supporters.
“There was a couple of guys behind us in the commentary box, punters saying ‘a Celtic player would never get sent off for that’.”
What happened to Ianis Hagi at Ibrox upon Rangers’ return?
On first glance, it appeared that Hagi was somewhat unlucky to have been issued his marching orders. However, when the tackle was shown again in slow motion, it became evident that he had to leave.
There was no attempt to damage his opponent, and it is clear that the Romanian international is not that type of player, but it cannot enter the referee’s mind, especially in today’s game.
Some conspiracy theorists may argue that a Celtic star would not be treated as harshly, and while Stewart has taken that allegation and used it to rile up Rangers fans, he is correct that any player would be sent out for that type of challenge.
Hopefully, the officials north of the border will be consistent in their handling of these kind of tackles for the rest of the season.
If members of Brendan Rodgers’ side receive a warning for similar incidents, it will only fuel theories and accusations of favoritism.
Match Preview: Glentoran vs Carrick Rangers
Tomorrow evening, we will face Carrick Rangers in the first game of the new Stephen Baxter era, at the Bet McLean Oval, in the Toal’s County Antrim Shield Quarter Final.
Until this weekend’s much-needed league win over Cliftonville, Carrick’s only bright spot this season had been a 4-0 victory over Championship leaders Bangor at Clandeboye Park in the previous round of the Shield, following an opening-day victory over Glenavon.
Manager Stuart King was fired as a result of his dismal run of results, and two veteran players took over: defender Michael Surgenor and former striker Curtis Allen.
Carrick have only won the County Antrim Shield once in their history, and it came against Glentoran.
The teams last met in the competition in November, at the Semi-Final stage of last season’s tournament. At that point in the season, Carrick had already taken 6 league points from Glentoran (and would add another point at The Oval a few months later), but this match proved surprisingly easy for Warren Feeney’s side, with goals from Shay McCartan, Junior, Rory Donnelly, and Paddy McClean propelling the Glens to the Final with a 4-0 victory.
Declan Devine: “Our second half performance and eventual triumph over Linfield on Friday night was a fantastic display of skill and spirit from the players, and it should serve as a precedent for how we should approach any game we play.
Friday night demonstrated the squad’s commitment, integrity, and skill. Following a difficult run in the Premiership, we showed Linfield a little too much respect in the first half and were somewhat shaken by the early goal. That’s why Daniel’s first-half performance in goal was so important for us.
At halftime, we agreed on what we needed to do and went out in a much more positive manner, not giving Linfield players time to settle and taking control of the situation. Each of the three players that scored accepted their goal quite well. It’s encouraging to see three goals with such diverse objectives. So it was a terrific effort and result, but it sets the benchmark for future games, which begin tonight.
I’d like to thank our supporters for rallying behind us on Friday night. You stayed with us even when we were down a goal and were terrific when we came back into the game in the second half. When we play well, the fans stick with us; when we play poorly,
Leave a Reply