Motherwell claim Rangers should have had red card for 'poor' tackle on Stuart McKinstry

Motherwell manager Steven Hammell believes Rangers defender Leon King should have been sent off for a “poor” tackle on Stuart McKinstry’s during the Ibrox club’s 2-1 win at Fir Park.

King brought down McKinstry on 87 minutes as the winger attempted to break into the penalty box as Motherwell chased down a 2-1 deficit, with referee David Dickinson deciding that a yellow card was sufficient punishment. Hammell, however, felt that the Rangers defender’s challenge carried excessive force and could have caused an injury.

"I think it's a red card,” Hammell said on the King tackle. “Not for where it is on the pitch and where Stuart's going to – that's up for debate – but for the actual tackle in isolation. It's poor, he catches him high and there's a lot of force in it. I think Stuart's lucky not to come away with an injury on the back of it. It's not something we are going to be overly concerned about but in my opinion, it's a poor tackle.

Asked if VAR, which arrives in Scottish football on Friday, would have upgraded the yellow to a red, Hammell replied: “Maybe. It's up for debate. Maybe where it is on the pitch and where Stuart is running to, going into a goalscoring area, that's up for debate. The actual tackle, in isolation, no matter where that is on the pitch, it's a poor tackle.”

Referee David Dickinson shows a yellow card to Rangers' Leon King for his foul on Motherwell's Stuart McKinstry.

Hammell was left frustrated by the “cheap” nature of Rangers’ goals and said that one of his players should have committed a tactical foul to stop Malik Tillman running in to score the opener. "I think we put a lot into the game but again, the goals we concede aren't good enough,” added the Well boss. “They are too cheap. Big moments in the game, fine details lose matches at this level. It's something we need to get better at quickly. You don't need to be an expert or a professional to see where the problems are with that. It's not something that needs overly coached, but we highlighted all week in transition. It's a tactical foul, that's all it is and it is quickly dealt with and move on. From our point of view, it's nowhere near good enough.”