Rangers boss Steven Gerrard might’ve admitted that his side has “no complaints” over the red card given to Alfredo Morelos by referee Don Robertson on Sunday.
He might’ve even bit his lip when it came to complaining about other players not being punished for similar offences.
But the Ibrox boss couldn’t resist criticising an over-eager Don Robertson whom Gerrard believes was “desperate” to show red in the match.
”It’s the first setback Alfredo’s had after huge, huge improvements so we’ll reset that but we certainly have no complaints,” said Gerrard [Daily Mail].
“Unfortunately, the supporters and his teammates will suffer because he’s not available for the next game.
“There had been a bit of a commotion at half-time between both sets of players, although there wasn’t much in it.
“However, when I saw the referee book Ryan Jack and Declan Gallagher before the start of the second half [for their part in it], I thought that he was waiting for a moment.
“As I said, we have no complaints about the red card but I felt he was desperate to give out a red card today. I had that feeling from the side, which is unfortunate because our player does get that type of abuse.
“Alfredo was unplayable. It is a setback today, he knows that, we know that. I’m sure he hates getting punished in the pocket so hopefully he will get back on the horse and continue to improve in that area.”
Referees must do more to stamp authority on matches
There’s an argument here that Robertson lost control of the game as the Ibrox side travelled to Fir Park.
The Ryan Jack yellow remains a mystery as all the midfielder done was criticise Liam Donnelly for an undisputable red card challenge on Morelos. This is something the referee should’ve been doing.
The fact Robertson gave Donnelly a yellow for the horror tackle probably meant that’s why he didn’t book the Motherwell midfielder for the commotion in the tunnel but did Jack.
Rangers fans might’ve fumed with the decision to send Morelos off and Gerrard was certainly not running the risk of getting into trouble.
But Scottish refereeing has genuinely got to look at itself and think what it is doing for the good of the game here.
Get in charge of the games can call them fairly and maturely, or hand responsibility over to someone who will.
