Raging Rangers boss Michael Beale blasted Chris Sutton for daring to question his sportsmanship.
In the thinnest of veiled swipes, the Londoner refused to mention the former Celtic striker by name as he let rip at the “worst ever player to play for Chelsea.” But the angry Ibrox boss made his feelings abundantly clear as he responded to Sutton’s comments in the wake of last Sunday’s Scottish Cup clash with Partick Thistle, where Beale ordered his team to stand aside and allow Partick Thistle a walk-in equaliser after Malik Tillman had controversially netted for Rangers.
Record Sport columnist Sutton praised the “brilliant gesture” during a stint working for BBC 5 Live following the fifth-round tie, which Gers eventually won 3-2. But the ex-England international then asked: “Here’s a question, just a yes or no answer. Do you think Michael Beale would have done that had they been playing Celtic?”
That take didn’t go down well with the Rangers manager, who hit back when Sutton’s question was put directly to him: “Listen, there are pundits that are comedy acts. There are ex-players who are comedy acts.
“I don’t even want to answer that question because they are comedy acts and they are there to create intrigue. They don’t speak about the betterment of the game, they don’t help our game at all.
“All they do is bring it back down to the gutter. There are a lot of good things we can speak about in our game at the moment, at other clubs as much as in my club.
“I don’t know why people… Why is that where they go? At the end of the day, we don’t know, do we? If I had allowed that goal to stand and we had gone through in the cup like that, what would that have done for Malik? What would that have said about me and our club?
“And also, it seems like because Partick Thistle said it, that Ian McCall was getting the sack anyway. Then you guys would be questioning me that I took a goal from someone that lost his job.
“I think that day worked out about as well as it could have done when that situation happened. You see when people do that (question if same decision would have been reached against Celtic), I think we need to wise up in this country. There are people out there creating intrigue for intrigue reasons and those people, in my opinion, we need to mute them and quickly.”
Beale was put on the spot after Tillman robbed the ball as the Jags were preparing to return possession after an injury break. With the Firhill side outraged, he made the call to hand the goal back to Thistle’s Scott Tiffoney in order to protect Tillman, who had been down hurt when team-mate Antonio Colak knocked the ball out to allow treatment, from being labelled a cheat.
His decision sparked a furious response from the Ibrox faithful but Beale knows his long-term popularity will depend on whether he can deliver lasting success. And he aimed another pop at Sutton as he made his point, saying: “I think history will determine (how popular I am).
"I don’t think anything I do right in this second will determine that. Emotions run high, they like one player and they don’t like another, one scores one week and isn’t liked the next. It is the role of the fan.
“Growing up, I was a fan of Chelsea. So there is one pundit around here who is the worst ever player to play for Chelsea. That is why I won’t mention his name because I try to forget him.”
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