Willie Collum was the man in the middle for Celtic vs Rangers today.
The experienced official faced the unenviable task of making most of the big calls on derby day in Glasgow.
He was supported by David McGeachie and Ross Macleod as his assistants, meanwhile, Steven McLean was on VAR duty with Graeme Stewart.
Here’s how we saw the major decisions made in the game…
John Lundstram red card
Just when we all thought the first half was going to pass without incident, the Rangers midfielder lunged in on Alistair Johnston at pace.
With his studs showing, he didn’t connect with any of the ball, and indeed, caught the Celtic defender’s calf, high above the ankle.
An initial booking was given, but after a VAR check, Collum was advised to check the pitchside monitor. Unsurprisingly, he changed his mind and brandished a red. It was a dangerous challenge.
As clear a sending-off as you’re likely to see, but credit to the officials for reviewing the footage and arriving at that conclusion.
Verdict: Correct decision
Celtic penalty
Mohamed Diomande appeared to catch Matt O’Riley as he looked to open up his body inside the box.
The Celtic goalscorer fell dramatically, and the initial decision was to point to the spot.
On the face of things, this looked to be the right call, however, a lengthy VAR check was carried out with the view from Steven McLean that it was actually O’Riley who kicked into Diomande. It’s hard to argue this wasn’t the case.
Collum checked the incident on the monitor again and he stuck by his on-field decision. However, we feel he did get this one wrong, although it is important to recognise that it is debatable.
Verdict: Incorrect decision
Offside goals
Not really too much to add to these calls.
The attacking phase of play was carried out before the flag went up from the linesman, which then saw the goals chopped off. Collum and his officials enjoyed a great game on the whole, keeping control of the big occasion.
Verdict: Correct decisions
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel