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Daily Record
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Mark Pirie

John Lundstram ‘reckless’ Rangers red card splits the pundits as Jake Doyle-Hayes comparison takes centre stage

Hibs midfielder Jake Doyle-Hayes has been brought to the forefront of the debate following Rangers controversial visit to Easter Road - with John Lundstram's red card offence being compared to the lunge.

Referee Willie Collum was at the heart of the action at Easter Road as both Alfredo Morelos and Lundstram were given their marching orders in the second half, before Josh Campbell scored a stunning last-minute equaliser at Easter Road. That all came after Collum pointed to the spot to after Rocky Bushiri grabbed Antonio Colak, before James Tavernier stepped up to score the opener of the capital contest.

It gave the pundits plenty of talking points following the 90 minutes, with Doyle-Hayes first half tackle on Lundstram being pointed to by some post-match as a potential red card offence. And while Gio van Bronckhorst and Lee Johnson agreed it was a harsh call to send off the Rangers midfielder one pundit didn't see it that way.

There was little defence of Morelos' after his swinging arm caught Marijan Cabraja, but it was the man in the middle taking the most stick after the big calls in Leith. Record Sport takes a look back at the hot takes from a packed afternoon of action.

Hugh Keevins

“I think the penalty is a penalty. I think Bushiri deliberately impedes Colak. I think he goes down as if he has been shot, but all players do that. I think that was a penalty, and I think Lundstram deserved to go as well.

"I think it was reckless. If I was a Rangers player I would be looking at Alfredo Morelos and saying you can be a liability at times, because (they will be saying) we are down to 10 and we could have done without going down to nine. But he has struck the same player twice is a total stranger to the truth.”

Gordon Dalziel

“I don’t think Lundstram’s was a red card at all. I thought that was a poor, poor decision. I said before kick-off I hope we are talking about the football and not the referee, but obviously we are talking about Willie Collum for the next week or so.

“You can take what you want out of the penalty kick. Bushiri gives the referee a decision to make which he should have never have gave him. But Morelos coming on the park to me was the big disappointment. He is there to get fitness, we know he’s not up to speed, you can see that but he’s an important player for Rangers.

(SNS Group)

"You can’t get away with that behaviour, it just lets everybody else down (who is concerned with) Rangers, whether it’s the manager or the supporters that had over their hard earned cash but I thought Morelos let them down. As much as you can point the finger at the man in the middle Willie Collum, I thought he a poor game, but Morelos put them in a position they shouldn’t have been in.”

Neil McCann

“I think Hibs absolutely deserved a point in the end up, but Willie Collum’s decision to send John Lundstram off impacts the game hugely. I never thought it was a red card when I saw it but I’ve just seen it there (on a replay) it’s never a red card.

"It’s cynical, it’s a yellow for stopping an attack but Doyle-Hayes cleaned out Lundstram when he was on the attack cynically. It happens in the game. It should not be a red card.”

Michael Stewart

"The fact he's given the red card (to Lundstram) means people can then debate and say 'he's lunged in, he's this and that'. John Lundstram is making that tackle because he knows he's getting a yellow card. He's stopping an attack and getting a yellow card.

"It's not a red card. It's simply not. If Willie Collum brandished a yellow, nobody would be saying it's a red.

"And I will tell you what else, Jake Doyle Hayes wiped out Lundstram in the first half with a similar incident and he came in from the side in a scissors tackle. It was very similar, arguably worse and he didn't get sent off.

" Alfredo Morelos ' sending off, there's no question. Morelos' red card was the one decision Willie Collum got right. Absolute madness. It's a red card all day long."

Leanne Crichton

"I think inconsistency might be something that is mentioned an awful lot. Rightly or wrong, Willie Collum is now centre of attention. Did he get those calls right? I think there is a couple of them you can certainly debate.

"(For Morelos) There is something about this fixture. Hibernian and Rangers. It's almost like he has got a point to prove. The Aberdeen fixture was the same for a number of years. There is a real lack of trust with him."

Mark Wilson

“It was a fascinating game from the early changes which have been forgotten about, to the penalty to the sending off to the the last minute equaliser. It was incredible to watch but overall two big offenders today - one the referee and the other Alfredo Morelos."

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