Ex-Premier League referee says ‘look at Hart’ as Celtic teammate faces ‘avoidable’ ban
Carl Starfelt’s red card for Celtic during their 2-1 win over Ross County on Wednesday (15 December) was correct by the letter of the law but the referee could have managed the situation better.
That is the view of ex-Fifa and Premier League referee Keith Hackett speaking exclusively to Football Insider about how Alan Muir could have avoided showing Starfelt both of his yellow cards.
The defender was shown his booking for dissent when he reacted angrily to the referee when he was left on the ground by an elbow from Jordan Tillson, as shown on the BBC’s Sportscene.
Less than 10 minutes later he was shown a second yellow for stopping down Celtic’s left-side.
Starfelt will be banned for Celtic’s next Scottish Premiership game with St. Mirren but will be available for the League Cup final with Hibs this weekend.
“Look at the goalkeeper and the goalkeeper’s reaction [at the first yellow card],” Hackett said after analysing the footage with Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“It’s very difficult because you don’t want to suppress the passion of a player but there is a way where you can express your disappointment. If it becomes public, as it did on this occasion, and then continues then what the referee has to do is reassert his authority. That’s why he issued the yellow card.
“The player has to have a degree of self-control. For me, any yellow card given for an act of dissent are cheap. They’re so easily avoidable. Don’t dissent.
“But it takes two to have an argument. If the referee can, get out of the way and ignore it. I think he needed to back off a little bit.
“In law he’s correct, but in action just back off and give some space. He could have avoided it but I suspect he’s acted on the nature of what was said.
“The second yellow card was one that could have been managed.
“It’s not reckless, yes, it might have stopped an attack. In law he’s correct but in real terms when you referee at the very highest level, that was a manageable incident that meant a yellow card could have been avoided.”
In other news, Ange Postecoglou is ‘disciplining’ Celtic stars over an issue ‘doing his nut in’.