Spot The Difference- Compare Bobby Madden on Nir Bitton with Don Robertson and James Sands at Ibrox
Soccer Football - Scottish Premiership - Rangers v Celtic - Ibrox, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - January 2, 2021 Celtic's Nir Bitton is shown a red card by referee Bobby Madden REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
It is the same Laws of the Game but how referees apply them can be very different.
When Nir Bitton wrestled Alfredo Morelos to the ground in the first match of 2021 most Celtic fans knew what was coming next.
Stretching it the incident took place wide of the penalty box, the striker had never scored against Celtic but most fans knew it was a red card and Bitton had let his side down. Madden produced a red card, with some glee.
Spot the difference…
Notice how quickly Madden brings out a STRAIGHT red for Bitton & the instant waving of the flag by the linesman.
A worse scenario for Sands, but the ref acts like there was nothing to see and the 4th official said he didn’t see enough.
Shocking! pic.twitter.com/T5SQrf8vIq
— Hun-Occhio (@Hun_Occhio) August 28, 2022
A similar situation happened at Ibrox on Saturday with the added ingredient that Don Robertson had booked James Sands six minutes earlier for a fairly similar offence.
Second time around there was no Connor Goldson providing cover, Sands was again caught on the wrongside of an opponent and brought him to the ground with a grab around the waist.
Robertson saw it clearly but lacked the enthusiasm of Madden. Instead he shook his head, raised his arms as if to say ‘You know I can’t send him off’ and played on. The home side won 4-0, picked up their win bonus, Ross County lost out and Robertson ensured continued top level appointments and match fees.