Sky Sports pundit critical of Rangers red card decision that could see manager Steven Gerrard miss title clincher

Rangers Manager Steven Gerrard in the stand after being shown a red card during a Scottish Premiership match between Livingston and Rangers at The Tony Macaroni Arena, on March 03, 2021, in Livingston, Scotland. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

Beaton sent the Rangers manager to the stands for his remonstrations at half-time over a penalty-kick claim that was denied eight minutes before the interval and Rangers’ frustrations were compounded by Alfredo Morelos being booked for simulation.

Television replays showed contact between Livingston goalkeeper Max Stryjek and the Colombian with Boyd – who was close to the incident near the Livingston goalmouth – insisting the incident merited “a stonewall penalty kick”.

However the incident escalated with Gerrard’s half-time protests and the referee’s action which could potentially rule the Rangers manager out of the game which wins the club’s first league title in a decade.

Rangers forward Alfredo Morelos is brought down in the box by Max Stryjek but no penalty was awarded and the striker was shown a yellow card. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

And Boyd blasted: "Rangers are so close to winning the league title. Emotions are running high and [Steven Gerrard] has had a go but I think John has to realise ‘I might have made a mistake here’.

"As soon as John Beaton has gone up the tunnel thinking ‘have I got it wrong, have I got it right’ - when he’s told he’s got it wrong there are a lot of thoughts going through his head and has sent Steven Gerrard off for something he’s going to be right about.

“It’s a rush of blood and looking back he’ll think ‘I’ve got this totally wrong’.”

Gerrard watched the second half from the stand as Morelos shrugged off the booking to score a late winner and nudge Rangers closer to the league title with just four more points required to seal the silverware.

Get a year of unlimited access to all The Scotsman's sport coverage without the need for a full subscription. Expert analysis of the biggest games, exclusive interviews, live blogs, transfer news and 70 per cent fewer ads on Scotsman.com - all for less than £1 a week. Subscribe to us today