Judging the referee's performance in Ross County 1

Ross County's Jason Naismith slides in to challenge Alfredo Morelos as the away side appeal for a penalty. Picture: SNS

Ross County 1 - 3 Rangers: Alfredo Morelos nets brace in win

Thomson got two of the big decisions correct and one incorrect.

Let’s start with Jason Naismith’s challenge on Alfredo Morelos as the Rangers attacker is breaking into the Ross County box. Had this been a foul, it would have been a penalty. Yes, the first contact is made outside the area, but it is a penalty if the contact continues inside the area, as it does in this case. Although, Thomson would likely have called it outside the area, as he wouldn’t have been certain and therefore erred on the side of caution.

The reason it isn’t a penalty is simple - it’s not a foul. It’s not a scissor challenge or anything similar. The left foot comes round and clearly beats Morelos to the ball. It’s a clean contact without touching the man (Picture One), then the right leg gets tangled up Morelos afterwards.

Thomson’s positioning is very good (main picture), behind the two players slightly closer to the centre and only about 15 yards away. He has a perfect view.

Unfortunately for the whistler, the same cannot be said of the next big decision, which perhaps contributes to him getting it wrong.

Andrew Davies’ aerial challenge on Kenny Miller should have resulted in a red card. It’s undoubtedly an example of a player both using “excessive force” and “endangering an opponent”.

You can’t even excuse it in the normal way you can for fouls in the air by saying it’s his natural body movement, because his elbow is in a very unnatural position for an aerial challenge (Picture Two). An equivalent foul on the deck would be to go in with studs high into the leg of an opponent.

Thomson’s view could easily have been blocked, with three players in his sight line (Picture Three). These type of fouls can be quite difficult to see in real time, even if you have a good view. It’s easy enough to see the placement of the elbow when you review it in slow motion, but at full speed it can be hard to distinguish between something like that and a genuine clash of arms/bodies when the player jumps for the ball. To send Davies off, Thomson needed to be sure, and he wouldn’t have been.

The last incident took place in the second half as James Tavernier and Thomas Mikkelsen collided on the edge of the penalty box, as the County striker went to ground.

Again, like the Morelos claim from the first half, this isn’t a foul. Tavernier comes across and there isn’t any sort of push or shove, instead it’s a coming together of two bodies when both players are chasing the same ball. The Rangers man is just stronger than his opponent.