Rangers legend and BT Sport pundit Ally McCoist has slammed Hibernian defender Ryan Porteous following Friday night’s Easter Road clash.
The Scotland youth international flew wildly into Borna Barisic on the hour mark and promptly received a red card for the act.
(Photo by Ewan Bootman/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The challenge was condemned by the commentary team, by Steven Gerrard and by the pundits following the final whistle.
“It’s an absolutely horrendous challenge,” said a visibly enraged McCoist on BT Sport. “There’s absolutely no excuse for it and it’s as bad as I’ve seen in a long long time.”
The former striker went on to assert that Porteous was attempting to ‘seriously maim’ a fellow pro, while Kenny Miller also criticised the defender.
(Photo by Ewan Bootman/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Verdict
Borna Barisic is extremely lucky to have escaped without a serious injury following this unsavoury incident.
It was a potential leg breaker of a challenge which McCoist is right to criticise in no uncertain terms.
Clearly frustrated with the 3-0 deficit, Porteous downed tools and lunged in, leaving his teammates to battle for the final half an hour a man down.
The centre-back will pick up a three-match ban for violent conduct, but for an incident such as this, you’ve got to wonder if that’s really an adequate punishment.
