'Are you kidding me?' - Rangers vs Kilmarnock red card deemed 'harsh' by pundits amid deliberate handball claim

Former Rangers striker Steven Thompson exclaimed “you are kidding me” after Kilmarnock defender was shown a red card for denying a goal scoring opportunity during Sunday’s Premiership clash at Ibrox.

The BBC pundit was left in disbelief as he questioned referee David Dickinson’s call to send the Killie stopper for an early bath after only 22 minutes for a deliberate handball as he attempted to block Dujon Sterling’s goal-bound effort on the line.

Dickinson was summoned across to review the incident on the pitchside VAR monitor before awarding a spot kick and brandishing a red card for Wright. Gers skipper James Tavernier missed the subsequent spot-kick - his fifth slip up from 12 yards this season - as visiting keeper Will Dennis got down low to make a smart save and push the ball away to safety.

While Thompson and fellow pundits Kenny Miller and Stuart McCall unanimously agreed it was a stonewall penalty award, the decision to send Wright off proved a major talking point with the Ayrshire outfit leading 1-0 at the time. Reacting to the decision live on air, Thompson barked on BBC Sportsound: “Oh you are kidding me! That is so, so harsh. He's not deliberately tried to stop it in my opinion.” Former Rangers boss McCall said: “He's stopped a goalscoring chance but I don't think it's deliberate. He's a foot away and it's hit him. The ball is going into the goal but in no way is it deliberate."

Ex-Light Blues hitman Miller offered his take on the decision, admitting: “What I would say about it is it hits his hand and he stops a goal, so for me it's a penalty. But he's off balance. He's trying to get back and drop his body into a position where he can block it. His arm is always going to rise.

“I think it's a penalty but a harsh red card. He's actually fallen back so his hand naturally comes up. He's stopped the goal so it's a penalty for me, but a really, really harsh red card. This has been the most chaotic 21 minutes of football I've ever watched.”