"The game's gone" might be one of the overused football cliché of the year, but if anyone needed evidence that the game is decidedly gone, the sending off of Motherwell's Dan Casey tonight in the SPFL provided certain proof.
The Dubliner saw red in the 77th minute of Motherwell's draw with Kilmarnock on Friday.
The incident occurred when Kilmarnock's Daniel Armstrong grabbed the arm of Casey, who turned around in self defense and pushed his opponent. Casey's hand slid up Armstrong's jersey and ended up near his neck. It was standard enough behaviour between an attacker and a defender; Armstrong wasn't even try to dupe the referee into a sending off. However referee Chris Graham showed Casey a red card for the incident.
More frustratingly, the VAR referee called on Graham to review the incident. Graham then reviewed the challenge via the on-screen monitor and decided that the red card should stand.
The disbelief on Casey's face told you everything you need to know.
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Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell called the decision 'completely unacceptable' in his post-match press conference.
“I’ve used the words that I’m sick, fed up with it, and I am sick of it, I am.”
“I’m looking every single one of you in the eye here and we’re all seeing this the same way, we’re all seeing this the same way. I think it’s completely unacceptable that in our game at the top flight that you brandish a red card for that incident.
“And I think what compounds it and makes it even worse is that you get the opportunity to look at it again, you’ve been sent to the monitor and I do, I start to laugh at it almost out of boredom.
He added:
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"I'm concerned for the game in this country if we're deeming that type of thing a red card. We want it to get better. Decisions like that are not moving it forward."
Motherwell have been on the receiving end of a number of frustrating refereeing decisions but this might be worst of it. Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of criticism of the incident on social media. Scotland international John McGinn was amongst those to speak out about it.
Must’ve plugged the ufc into the tele https://t.co/8tDyFgHK5r
— John McGinn (@jmcginn7) December 20, 2024
Can’t watch that game anymore. Worst decision I’ve ever seen in my puff
— John McGinn (@jmcginn7) December 20, 2024
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