Enraged Celtic manager Elena Sadiku was ejected from the game for applauding referee Jamie Wilkie following a questionable penalty awarded to Rangers during an intense 3-2 victory for the Ibrox team.
Sadiku was cautioned by the referee during her protests over the decision to give Rangers a penalty for a supposed foul from Shannon McGregor on Charlie Devlin. Katie Wilkinson successfully converted the penalty to give Rangers a 2-1 lead, and despite her anger, Sadiku only received a yellow card. However, her gesture towards the match official resulted in the yellow being upgraded to a red card.
Despite Celtic equalizing twice through Caitlin Hayes and Saoirse Noonan in response to goals from Rio Hardy and Wilkinson, they were ultimately defeated by Chelsea Cornet’s spectacular winning goal. Sadiku, who had promised to maintain a calm demeanor on the sidelines, found herself in trouble with the referee once again.
Rangers’ penalty decision did not sit well with co-commentator Gemma Fay, a former Scotland goalkeeper with 202 international caps, who remarked on Sky Sports, “There will be debates about this, depending on who you ask – a defender or an attacker. In my opinion, Devlin fouled McGregor. But a women’s Old Firm game wouldn’t be complete without a controversial penalty. Those seem to be the rules.”
With this loss, Celtic now trail Rangers by four points, and leaders Glasgow City have the opportunity to extend their lead to five points later in the day.
