A fiery Kris Boyd shut down calls from Chris Sutton for John Souttar to receive a red card after the Rangers defender was penalized for a handball against Hibs.
The first half at Ibrox was full of VAR drama as Tom Lawrence scored against David Gray’s team, only to have the goal disallowed for offside. However, after a VAR review, the goal was eventually given, putting Rangers in the lead.
Hibs had a chance to equalize when Mykola Kukharevych’s shot hit Souttar’s hand in the penalty area. After initially waving play on, the referee was instructed to review the incident on the pitchside monitor, resulting in a penalty for Hibs. Unfortunately for the visitors, the penalty was missed by Kukharevych, with Jack Butland making the save.
During the half-time analysis on Sky Sports, Boyd defended the decisions made by the match officials, with even Sutton agreeing from afar. Boyd praised Lawrence’s goal and addressed Sutton’s concerns about Souttar’s handball, clarifying that Butland’s presence behind the defender prevented it from being a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Boyd then reiterated his point in response to Sutton’s questioning text messages, emphasizing that Souttar’s actions did not warrant a red card.
