Former referee Mark Clattenburg has stated Emmanuel Fernandez should have been sent off during Celtic vs Rangers.
The ex-Premier League official reckons the Rangers centre-back escaped a sending-off at Celtic Park after John Beaton didn't award a foul just outside the box.
The defender had been booked for a foul on Camilo Duran in the opening stages of the match. Clattenburg rubbished suggestions of a straight red card for that incident.
On the So Near, Yet So VAR show, he said: "When I watched it live, I never even thought about a red card. One side wants a red card, the other side doesn’t.
“The likelihood of Duran getting to the ball is high, of course, but he’s got a lot more to do."
However, the former official was surprised when Fernandez remained on the pitch after a challenge on Benjamin Nygren.
The defender looked to have impeded the Celtic midfielder in a wide position but ref Beaton waved play on.
Clattenburg was stunned that no free-kick was awarded as he suggested the ref would likely have had to send Fernandez off if he had blown for the foul.
He said: “I’m not saying the referee’s bottled it because only the referee knows what he’s doing.
“But if you look at other challenges that happened later in the game and received yellow cards, this is not consistent.
“Forget about the times, forget about the player. If you isolate yourself and go, ‘Was this a yellow card?’ It's a yellow card.
“He stops the promising attack because when you stop at the moment the contact’s made, the hold, there’s two-on-two going inside the penalty area.
“That’s what referees call a promising attack. That’s what the football game expects as a promising attack.
“Therefore, a yellow card should have been issued, and a red card.
“Unfortunately, because the referee doesn’t give a free-kick and because VAR cannot issue a second yellow card, the VAR cannot interfere.
“It was John Beaton’s decision. He hasn’t given a free-kick, which I was shocked at, but also by not giving the free-kick, he’s probably got himself out of having to issue the second yellow.
“Maybe he’s clever by not giving the free-kick – but a free-kick should have been awarded.”
