Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has backed the decision to send off Motherwell’s Emmanuel Longelo during Celtic’s 3-1 win at Celtic Park last Saturday.
Longelo was shown a straight red card by referee John Beaton after hauling down Daizen Maeda in the penalty area, a decision that also resulted in a spot kick being awarded. Beaton had initially pointed for a goal kick before VAR intervened and directed him to the pitchside monitor. Tomas Cvancara converted the resulting penalty to put Celtic ahead, and the hosts went on to seal the win comfortably.
Gallagher was clear in his support for the call, telling Sky Sports News that VAR had done the referee a significant service by flagging the incident. He argued that Longelo made no attempt to play the ball, which was not even in close proximity to him, and simply dragged Maeda to the ground. In his view, that leaves no room for debate: it is a foul, it warrants a red card, and the correct outcome was reached.
He was, however, surprised that Beaton had not spotted the incident himself in real time, given that the referee had the best possible view of the challenge from his position on the pitch.
The penalty and red card were not the only contentious moments of the afternoon. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had escaped with a booking earlier in the match for a challenge on Elijah Just, the Motherwell player who went on to score. Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou had questioned why VAR did not recommend a review of that incident, and pundit James McFadden acknowledged that he had seen similar challenges punished more severely.