Exclusive: Beaton risked sanction over Danilo incident in Rangers v Middlesbrough
Danilo Pereira was on the end of a challenge that could have resulted in a red card during Rangers’ draw with Middlesbrough, according to Keith Hackett.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that Boro’s Dael Fry was “lucky” to still be on the pitch following a crunching tackle on the Brazilian forward.
Russell Martin‘s side staged a dramatic comeback at Ibrox on Saturday, 26 July, after the Championship outfit registered a two-goal lead through Neto Borges and Fry, who later went into the book.
Having claimed a well-earned 2-0 win over Panathinaikos in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier just a few days before, goals from Danilo and Findlay Curtis helped to keep morale high.
Rangers stage comeback in front of Ibrox faithful
While there is still plenty of business to be done at Ibrox, there are positive signs emerging under new management and ownership, and the fans can see what lies ahead for next season.
Football Insider understands that Rangers and Celtic are fighting for a teenage sensation, Andrej Bacanin, and the Old Firm rivals are likely to be doing a lot of that battling on the pitch as well.
One player who has experienced a resurgence in recent months is Danilo, and with Hamza Igamane and Cyriel Dessers both being linked with moves away, it could not come at a more important time.
Of course, the 26-year-old has been plagued by multiple injuries since his move from Feyenoord, so after being scythed down by Fry, his teammates were, understandably, angry with the challenge.
Danilo Pereira’s teammates concerned by injury record
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the foul, the former referee said: “I think he’s lucky [to still be on the pitch]. What decided John Beaton’s decision was that the challenge was low down.
“It wasn’t on the knee, so there’s an element of trying to play the ball, and there’s no malice. There’s a speed element, but I think Beaton got it right. The difficulty facing referees is the mentality that there are no friendlies.
“If a referee decides to do a friendly and does not apply the law and is being watched by someone at the FA, they could be sanctioned and suspended.”