Former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson and ex-Celtic defender Charlie Mulgrew have slammed referee John Beaton after defender Emmanuel Fernandez was controversially booked during Rangers’ 2-1 defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle Park on Monday.
The booking arrived in the 80th minute, at a moment when Rangers were chasing the game and had the ball following a tackle by Fernandez on Hearts striker Claudio Braga.
Commentators and pundits were united in their view that the challenge was clean, with Fernandez making clear contact with the ball and showing minimal follow-through.
Ferguson, speaking on the Go Radio Football Show, was baffled.
“He has won the ball clearly there, Fernandez. I don’t know what John Beaton is seeing here. John Beaton, talk to me. Rangers are on the attack there,” he said.
Mulgrew shared Ferguson’s frustration, pointing to the shift in momentum that followed the decision.
“Unbelievable. And it’s mental. Honestly, that’s a tackle you would love your defender to make. That’s unreal. That’s mad. Rangers are on the attack, and then it changes the whole momentum,” he said.
The result extended Rangers’ gap to seven points behind the William Hill Premiership leaders, making every momentum swing in the closing stages of the season more consequential.
Rangers had taken the lead through Dujon Sterling in the first half and appeared to be in control of the contest. However, Blair Spittal’s introduction at half-time shifted the balance, and a second-half double from Stephen Kingsley and Lawrence Shankland handed Hearts the win.
Fernandez, who joined Rangers from Peterborough United, has been one of the club’s standout performers this season, earning a debut senior call-up for Nigeria, a place in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year, and Rangers’ Men’s Player of the Year award.
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