Former Liverpool coach Michael Beale showed immense sportsmanship on Sunday afternoon as he allowed Partick Thistle to score in their Scottish Cup clash with Rangers.
The incident occurred with just under 20 minutes remaining as a place in the quarter-final was at stake between the two Glaswegian sides separated by two miles. With the game level going into the latter stages, Malik Tillman went down the under a challenge and play forced to halt.
As it resumed, Kevin Holt received the throw-in and looked to send the ball back to Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor only for the Bayern Munich loanee to pick the pocket of the visiting defender, handing Beale's side the lead.
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Ian McCall's side were incensed at the incident as a melee ensued. When the tempers settled, the 42-year-old spoke to captain James Tavernier and the Scottish Championship side were allowed to waltz through to restore parity.
The decision was met by boos and jeers from the Ibrox crowd. However, it didn't come as a detriment to the scoreline as James Sands booked their place in the last eight with four minutes of normal time remaining.
"Listen, there was a massive misunderstanding. Malik gets injured and the ball goes out of play," the former QPR manager explained to Viaplay. "He didn’t see it’s been kicked out. When he stands up he thinks he has to go press because it’s the instruction he’s usually given, he’s not seen that Thistle are going to kick it back.
"We scored off it and it’s controversial but this club is built on high standards and we want the best for the game. I didn’t think it was right and just to win a game of football like that.
"Not at home, not against Partick Thistle. I made a lot of mistakes today in terms of team selections but that wasn’t one of them. That was the right one for football and to uphold the standards of this football club."
Beale joined Liverpool from Chelsea, progressing from the U16s to the coach of the U23s before taking up an opportunity with Sao Paulo. He reunited with Reds legend Steven Gerrard in 2018 when he was appointed as his assistant at Rangers, following him to Aston Villa before taking his first steps in management last year.
He continued: "If you watch it back it was a big misunderstanding where Malik has got fouled, he doesn’t see what’s happened. He looks around and puts his arm up and goes and presses the ball. He’s unawares and I don’t want it hanging around his head which would be unfair to him and I don’t want to win the game that way.
"The players understood it was a misunderstanding. They spoke about it on the pitch. I had to confer with my bench to make sure what I saw was correct and I think it was the right thing to do. It’s never easy that but it’s a better place for us making that decision.
"It would have been unjust for us to win the game in that way. I’ve never been involved like that before. Not everyone is going to agree but when everyone watches it back and see Malik goes down unawares, that’s what caused it. It’s unfortunate and I’d rather it didn’t happen but we dealt with it in the right way."
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