A Celtic icon has gone off at the deep end over a Rangers penalty decision.
Chris Sutton has labeled referee John Beaton as ‘embarrassing’ after his decision to award a penalty to Rangers in Sunday’s dramatic Old Firm match with Celtic.
The reigning Premiership champions seemed set to take a huge stride towards reclaiming their title after taking a two-goal lead into half-time thanks to an early strike from Daizen Maeda and a penalty from Danish international Matt O’Riley.
However, Rangers were offered a route back into the game when Beaton awarded a penalty 10 minutes into the second-half after first showing a yellow card to Fabio Silva for simulation.
The on-field official was called to the pitchside monitor for a VAR review of the judgment and Beaton opted to award a spot kick after deciding Alistair Johnston had made contact with the Portuguese striker. The verdict sparked a heated response from Sutton, who also accused on-loan Wolverhampton Wanderers star Silva of cheating.
Speaking on Sky Sports coverage of the game, the outspoken former Hoops player said: “This would be embarrassing if they awarded a penalty. He is already on his way down and you shouldn’t be awarded for cheating. It has to be adequate contact, a clear and evident error, of course it isn’t.
“The more you watch it the more you see he has dived. It’s a humiliating climbdown from John Beaton it really is.”
James Tavernier converted the penalty and kickstarted what seemed to be a triumphant comeback for his side with a beautiful finish beyond Joe Hart. Rangers salvaged an equaliser and thought to have snatched a point when Abdallah Sima netted four minutes from time – but Celtic got back in front due to an Adam Idah strike less than 60 seconds later. However, Rangers stormed back to grab a share of the points with a sensational strike from Rabbi Matondo.
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