DEREK McInnes has defended Aberdeen right back Dominic Ball - and claimed that Rangers winger Josh Windass had gone to ground too easily at Pittodrie yesterday.
Steven Gerrard, the Ibrox manager, felt that Ball had deserved to be sent off by referee Kevin Clancy for bringing down Windass inside his own area and giving away a spot kick.
However, McInnes, whose team drew the game after Bruce Anderson levelled in injury-time, dismissed that suggestion and described the penalty award as “soft”.
He also backed up the match official’s decision to red card Alfredo Morelos for kicking out at Scott McKenna early on in the Ladbrokes Premiership match.
Asked if he thought Ball was lucky to remain on the park, McInnes said: “No I don’t think so. I think it was soft.
“It doesn’t take a lot for Josh Windass to go down a lot of times anyway, but my staff have looked at it and they thought it was a penalty. I don’t know if it’s a red card.
“I’m disappointed with a lot of the decisions at time today. But my team kept their composure and their discipline, which was always very important in these types of games.”
Asked about the Morelos sending off, he said: “It doesn’t matter how hard you kick,” he said. “If you kick you put yourself at risk. So I don’t think he can have any complaints.
“For me, if you lift your feet and go to kick out and lash out the laws of the game don’t say how hard the kick is. He clearly kicked. Discipline is very important.”
McInnes also singled out Bruce Anderson, the teenage striker who came off the bench to level the game in injury-time on his debut, for special praise.
“Wee Bruce brought us inspiration and freshness,” he said. “The thing I love about the boy is that he goes onto the pitch expecting to get chances. He went on and won a header against a boy that’s a foot taller than him.
“Then he went looking for space and didn’t just stand up against defenders. It was a brilliant finish against a very good goalie in Allan McGregor.
“That gave our supporters something to cheer and it was great to see my players celebrate with them with the Rangers players on their knees. It’s a good point for us in the end
“I didn’t think there was a lot in the game other than Rangers keeping within their shape well and credit to them for that.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here