DEREK McINNES raged for Celtic striker Oh Hyeon-gyu to get a red card as he watched his Kilmarnock team walloped 4-1 at Rugby Park yesterday.
The South Korean striker had just been involved in a high-boot challenge on defender Liam Donnelly which saw referee David Dickinson reaching for a yellow card.
We were treated to the pathetic and sickening sight of home players waving imaginary cards in the air as they implored the match official to dismiss the Hoops frontman.
GUILTY…Celtic striker Oh Hyeon-gyu is about to be booked for a high-boot challenge on Kilmarnock defender Liam Donnelly.
NOT GUILTY…Giorgos Giakoumakis takes one in the face from a wayward challenge from Craig Sibbald. The Dundee United player escaped punishment.
The champions were leading 4-1 at the time following a 20-minute first-half fusilade from Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda and Matt O’Riley (2) and the Ayrshire team were desperately clutching at straws as they badgered the whistler into reducing their opponents to 10 men.
They pitifully complained while Oh, in the midst of it all, looked astonished that he had even been booked for what was clearly an unintentional action. Yes, it was a foul, no doubting that, but he had not endangered an opponent by going in studs-up in a challenge that could have had severe consequences.
Crimson-faced McInnes whined on Sky Sports: “I thought there should’ve been a red card for Oh. We get Vassell sent off for a similar challenge at Easter Road and I don’t know why VAR look because it’s the same people on VAR that looked at the one at Easter Road.
“Liam Donnelly has got a full foot in the face. I don’t want to see people sent off for that but my player got sent off at Easter Road and I do believe that that was a red card, as well.”
Once the bluster had faded, CQN thought it was worth looking again at the so-called flashpoint at Rugby Park.
OUCH…Giorgos Giakoumakis winces as Dundee United’s Craig Sibbald goes in with a high challenge which referee David Dickinson thought was perfectly legitimate.
BOOKED…Oh Hyeon-gyu is on the receiving end of a yellow card from referee David Dickinson with Liam Donnelly grounded while his Killie team-mates have word with the match official.
It wasn’t quite the mirror image of an incident at Parkhead on November 5 when Giorgos Giakoumakis was hit smack in the face by the sole of the boot of Dundee United’s Craig Sibbald. As the images prove, if anything, though, it was more of a full-on physical engagement.
The referee that afternoon had a good view of the coming together, took no action and waved play on. VAR intervened to review the moment the Greek took one on the kisser. After the usual delay, they agreed with the whistler and the Tannadice player escaped without even a finger-wagging.
Referee that day? David Dickinson. The same David Dickinson who booked Oh for a lesser offence five months later.
The defence rests.
TWO-GOAL O’RILEY STARS IN HOOPS WHIRLWIND
