CELTIC hero John Hartson reckons his old club deserved to hammer Sevco Rangers at the weekend, Allan McGregor should have been red-carded and Steven Gerrard got his comments badly wrong.
The former Welsh international striker, who could boast eight strikes in these fixtures, said: “Celtic beat Rangers 5-0 last April and it could have been the same again had it not been for the woodwork and a goalkeeper who shouldn’t have been on the park.
“Allan McGregor had a blatant kick at Kristoffer Ajer and there is no way he should have got away with that. It was petulant and it was obvious and he should never have been in between the sticks to save that header from Odsonne Edouard.”
Remarkably, TV pictures highlighted the fact referee Willie Collum actually had a good view of the flashpoint incident and took no action. The match official was caught on camera looking back at the keeper and the Hoops central defender who was prone on the ground when he was sneakily kicked by the Ibrox No.1.
There are now calls for action to be taken retrospectively against the veteran shotstopper who is currently with the Scotland international squad as they prepare for the friendly against Belgium on Friday and the UEFA Nations League opener on Monday, both at Hampden.
Hartson added: “In terms of the game itself, I thought Celtic were still miles ahead of Rangers and this game confirmed it.
“I also thought Steven Gerrard was way off it after the game with his comments. I actually thought Ryan Jack jumped into Tom Rogic, who then got away from him.
“And, let’s be honest here, I think there was about half-an-hour gone before Willie Collum actually booked a Rangers player. Scott Brown got booked after Kyle Lafferty took a clear dive and there were a fair few meaty challenges from Rangers players going in.
“So, I think to be complaining about the incident with Jack was a nonsense, to be honest.”
