The former Rangers striker gave his take on a first half potential red card
Kris Boyd believes referee Don Robertson got it spot on for giving Jayden Meghoma a yellow card in Rangers’ 6-3 win over Falkirk.
The Bairns were 2-0 up in the first half when the Brentford loanee took out Calvin Miller in his own half. While the incident took place around 60 yards from the Rangers goal, there was very little in the way of covering defenders. Robertson gave Meghoma a caution following the incident. From that point on, Rangers dominated proceedings as Youssef Chermiti and Bojan Miovski both bagged braces, while Tochi Chukwuani and Nico Raskin also got in on the action.
The denial of a goalscoring opportunity (DOGSO) ruling has caused controversy throughout the season in the Scottish Premiership. As recent as last week, Hearts midfielder Marc Leonard was sent off for a challenge on Robbie Muirhead in their stalemate with Livingston. Chris Sutton believes because of this, Meghoma was fortunate not to see red, however Boyd thinks a yellow sufficed.
Boyd on Meghoma incident
Speaking as a pundit on Sky Sports, Boyd claimed that the Meghoma tackle was completely different to Leonard’s. He said: “It’s not reckless. It’s a high tackle. It’s a foul, but Calvin Miller’s touch is taking him away from goal. He’s not in on goal. It’s not the same as last week (Leonard incident).”
Meanwhile, Sutton believes neither should be given as a red card but wants to see more consistency from referees. He argued: “I didn’t think Leonard’s was a red card last week because there was too big a distance to travel. But if you’re going to give that a red, then you have to give this a red as well.”
There was also a bit of dubiety about Rangers’ first goal as the Falkirk defence claimed to the referee that Nico Raskin’s cross had ventured out of play. However, replays showed no concrete evidence that the ball was out and Chukwuani’s strike stood.
‘Zero room for error’ for Gers in title race
Also in the Sky Sports studio was former Rangers and Falkirk man, Scott Arfield. As the Light Blues now prepare for the split, Arfield believes they can ill-afford to drop any points in the title race. After both Celtic and Hearts also won this weekend, Rangers now sit a point behind the league leaders and two ahead of their Old Firm rivals.
Arfield said: “The next game is obviously always the most important, but of course Rangers will look ahead to fixtures they’ll think they can win. However, when you get to this stage, you just need to find a way. Hearts and Celtic will feel the exact same.”
“There’s no room for error. Absolutely zero room for error. Rangers had to win today. They had to find a way and like Hearts and Celtic over the weekend, they have found a way and now I’m sure this title race is going to go right down to the wire.”