'Looking for it': Former ref says Rangers' Todd Cantwell will have target on his back after Olympiakos incident

Todd Cantwell won a penalty for Rangers during the friendly defeat by Olympiakos.

Cantwell won his side a penalty in the 49th minute of the match which Rangers lost 3-1, going down inside the box as he ran at goalkeeper Alexandros Paschalakis. Roache insists it was simulation and Cantwell hood-winked referee Steven McLean who took his time before awarding the spot-kick – scored by James Tavernier.

The former top rank official told https://altindex.com: “It’s a clear dive. He was looking for it and bought it. Referees need to be strong on simulation. I have always said it should be a red card offence - it is cheating. Any player and not just Cantwell should be subject to the same sanction. Officials need to be strong on this.

“VAR would have got involved during a regular season match and Steven would have been encouraged to watch a review on the pitch-side monitor and overturn his decision, which I’m sure he would have. I think Cantwell could now have a target on his back in the new campaign because anyone looking at the incident from the Olympiakos game will feel he has definitely gone down looking for the penalty.

“As I say, this is an issue that really burns with me. The punishment for diving – or seeking to win a decision – is a yellow card and that’s nowhere near enough. We need to eliminate simulation from our game so the tariff has to be much higher. Players should be given a retrospective red card for cheating. I really hate simulation and I think the only way you are going to get rid of blatant cheating is to make it a red card offence.”