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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Ben Banks

Rangers B team boss blasts 'ridiculous' Celtic red card as he mounts defence for derby collapse from 8 man side

Rangers 'B' team boss David McCallum says that the decision to send goalkeeper Lewis Budinauckas in a 3-1 derby defeat to Celtic was an odd game-changer.

The young Ibrox side were playing at the club's home stadium with senior manager Michael Beale in attendance, and it all started so well for them when Arron Lyall put them ahead. But the goalkeeper's dismissal decision was the turning point and Ben Quinn's double plus an Adam Brooks strike sealed a comfortable Lowland League win for Celtic.

Bailey Rice and Adam Devine - both involved in Premiership matches this term - were sent off in the second half as Rangers finished with eight men. But McCallum didn't understand the decision to send Budinauckas off for handling the ball outside his box, and says the linesman got it wrong. McCallum fumed: "I saw it at the time and we had video at the side of the pitch. Ridiculous decision. I spoke to Lewis at half-time, if you are going to make big decisions you need to get them right. It is clearly at very worst over the line, as in on the line as he catches it.

"The next step takes him into the box. To make a big decision like that at that stage of the game, where we were excellent up until that point and clearly ahead, that changes the game."

He continued on Rangers TV that while having no arguments over Rice's second yellow, his first was another moment of confusion: "I thought first 40 minutes at times we were outstanding and scored an outstanding goal. The sending off (Budinauckas) is a massive game-changer and you have to get it right, and the linesman got it wrong.

"The linesmen is 10-15 yards away and he can't get it wrong. We go from a team dominating and creating chances to it becoming really difficult, the second red I can't debate, the second yellow is slightly late but the first one is a bizarre decision.

"He's come out with the ball, two players go in at the same height with feet and because Bailey comes out with the ball, it's a free-kick and a yellow card. It's two wrong decisions that put us on the backfoot."

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