The red card shown to St Johnstone midfielder Kai Fotheringham during Saturday’s clash with Rangers has sparked a fierce debate, with one pundit going as far as to claim the referee found himself in an impossible position when making the call.
Fotheringham was given his marching orders after VAR intervened and flagged his tackle on Rangers midfielder Nico Raskin as worthy of a straight red. The decision sent shockwaves through the game and has since dominated the post-match conversation, with pundits and fans alike weighing in on whether the punishment fit the crime.
The tackle itself came under intense scrutiny after the VAR review, with officials deciding the challenge was dangerous enough to overturn what had initially been a lesser decision on the pitch. For St Johnstone, already facing a tough afternoon at Ibrox, losing a man made a difficult task near enough impossible.
Speaking after the match, pundit Tam McManus was among those who gave their verdict, suggesting the referee was caught in a difficult spot once VAR got involved. McManus argued the official was essentially conflicted, having already made his initial call before being asked to reconsider the incident on the monitor. That kind of situation, he said, puts enormous pressure on referees and can lead to decisions that feel inconsistent with what was actually seen live.
The sentiment appears to have been widely shared. Across punditry circles and fan forums, the consensus leaned towards the view that while the tackle was reckless, a red card was a harsh outcome. Many felt a yellow card would have been the more proportionate response, and that VAR’s involvement tipped the scales further than the incident perhaps deserved.
For Rangers, the red card came as a boost at a point in the game where they were looking to push for dominance. Raskin himself was able to continue after receiving treatment, which only added fuel to the argument from St Johnstone supporters that the sending off was excessive given the outcome for the player involved.
Fotheringham now faces an automatic suspension following the dismissal, which is a significant blow for St Johnstone heading into a packed fixture schedule. The Perth side have been battling hard this season to pick up points wherever they can, and losing a key midfielder for upcoming games is far from ideal.
The broader conversation around VAR in Scottish football has once again been reignited by the incident. Since the technology was introduced to the Scottish Premiership, it has been a near constant source of debate, with supporters and pundits regularly questioning the consistency of how it is applied. Some feel it has improved decision making, while others argue it has introduced a new layer of confusion and controversy that the game could do without.
What happened at Ibrox on Saturday feels like another chapter in that ongoing story. The technology flagged the tackle, the referee went to the monitor, and a red card followed. Whether that was the right call depends largely on who you ask, but the near universal verdict from those covering the game seems to be that it was, at the very least, a tough one to swallow for St Johnstone.
Rangers, for their part, will be focused on the result rather than the debate surrounding it. Three points is three points, and any advantage that came their way during the match will be seen as part of the game. But for neutrals and those interested in how officiating is developing in Scotland, the Fotheringham red card is exactly the kind of moment that keeps the VAR argument alive and kicking.