Kris Boyd has claimed that if a Celtic player had been on the receiving end of the tackle Reo Hatate inflicted on Kilmarnock’s Liam Donnelly, the reaction would have been far more intense.
The former Rangers striker criticised referee Nick Walsh and VAR official Don Robertson for failing to send off Hatate after a high, studs-up challenge late in the game.
With just ten minutes left, Hatate lunged into Donnelly near the halfway line, catching the Kilmarnock midfielder just below the knee.
Walsh deemed the challenge worthy of a yellow card, a decision that was upheld following a VAR review.
However, Boyd, speaking in the Sky Sports studio alongside James McFadden and Eilidh Barbour, was adamant that the incident warranted harsher punishment.
“It’s a red card. It’s a red card. It’s a red card. All day long,” Boyd said.
“You can’t catch a player that far up a leg, say sorry, and hope to get away with it. He catches him below the knee. Just below the knee. It’s impossible not to get sent off there.
“So the referee gets it wrong on the pitch, and Don Robertson gets it wrong in the VAR room. That’s a red card all day long.”
McFadden offered a more measured take, though he acknowledged the severity of the challenge.
“I don’t know because you need to go with endangering an opponent, which he is. It’s high, it’s outstretched.
“The excessive force or brutality is not there in terms of, he’s not going in with a huge amount of force. I know he pulls out, but his leg is extended, it’s high, and his studs are showing.
“A lot of people will say that the game has gone soft, but that would still have been a red card. I think he’s very fortunate.”
Boyd, however, wasn’t convinced and reiterated his point:
“I know we’re laughing and joking about it, but see if that’s against Celtic, they would have been going off their head tonight.
“There will be nothing said tonight. That’s a red card all day long.”