A former Premier League referee has concluded that the right decision was reached to send Alex Cochrane off in yesterday's clash between Hearts and Celtic.
Dermot Gallagher believes Nick Walsh was spot on to give the Jambos defender his marching orders in the first half of the game at Tynecastle.
The retired official discussed the decision on Sky Sports' Ref Watch this morning, as he does every Monday.
And he pored over the decision from Walsh, as well as touching upon VAR's involvement in the call.
Walsh had originally given a yellow card for the professional foul by Cochrane on Daizen Maeda, but Willie Collum advised him to review his decision at the pitchside monitor.
This sparked great debate in the aftermath of the game from pundits, as well as Hearts interim boss Steven Naismith, who made his feelings known at full-time.
But Gallagher feels Cochrane was not the victim of a poor call and instead was rightfully sent off for his actions.
He said: "One of my friends is a Hearts fan and he sent me a message last night saying he didn't think it was right but I actually think it was a red card.
"If you go sideways, stop there. At that point the defender is not going to catch the player. Cochrane brings him down, he's gonna head towards goal, keeper can't get the ball. The law says will he get a shot away?
"I think for the referee I understand in normal play why it's a yellow card because he can't see that. He goes to the screen he sees what I've seen and I think obviously it's going to be a red card."
Our Celtic Digest newsletter brings exclusive content directly to you rather than solely through the website. You can already find us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram but we will also send bespoke opinion pieces and special features directly to your email inbox every evening. Not only will you receive this article from Sean Martin, Tony Haggerty or Aidan Macdonald (or, sometimes, from all three) but you will also get easy access to our best content from the last 24 hours too. It’s a great way to keep up to date with what’s happening at Ange Postecoglou’s Scottish champions. To sign up, simply take five seconds to type in your email here. Simple!
