Rangers incident reignites debate as SFA slammed for opening can of worms
A former Premiership referee would like to see more consistency regarding the ‘shambles’ handling of the DOGSO rule
Rangers defender Jayden Meghoma was fortunate not to be given a red card in the 6-3 Premiership win over Falkirk, according to former referee Steven Conroy.
Meghoma was involved in a first-half incident at the Falkirk Stadium where he was booked for bringing down home winger Calvin Miller. However, some onlookers believe the Brentford loanee should have been handed his marching order for denying a goalscoring opportunity (DOGSO).
Conroy feels Meghoma’s challenge doesn’t meet his criteria for a DOGSO - but he cited previous incidents this season that have lowered the threshold for a dismissal and for that reason feels the 19-year-old can count himself lucky to stay on the pitch.
Meghoma lost control of the ball ten yards inside the Falkirk half and Miller then nicked it in front of him before being taken out by the Rangers defender with very little in the way of covering defenders. However, given the 60-yard proximity between the incident and Jack Butland’s goal, referee Don Robertson gave Meghoma a yellow.
With the Bairns 2-0 and cruising at the time, it was a pivotal moment in the match, which may perhaps have put the game beyond Rangers if they went down to 10-men, however instead Danny Rohl’s men launched an inspiring comeback, prevailing 6-3 victors.
The DOGSO ruling has caused controversy throughout the season in the Scottish Premiership. As recent as ten days ago, Hearts midfielder Marc Leonard was sent off for a challenge on Robbie Muirhead in their stalemate with Livingston, despite the incident taking place on the halfway line near the dugouts.
Conroy on SFA ‘shambles’
Conroy, who was a category 1 top level Scottish official for 12 years, thinks the SFA have opened a can of worms regarding DOGSO, by deeming some incidents worthy of a red and others a yellow. The former whistler has called for more consistency among the current crop of officials. He told The Ref’s View podcast: “I think first off, DOGSO is an absolute shambles and it’s a shambles of the SFA’s own making.
“They have tried to make themselves look so clever that they’ve got themselves wrapped up in all sorts of nonsense, and God knows where it ends. We were on here discussing, I think it was for Aberdeen (vs Motherwell), that someone got a DOGSO on the halfway line; now they’ve topped that with Livingston vs Hearts.”
"This one is even worse, we have raised the farcical bar already. In no sane world would it have been a red card (for Leonard) last week, the same as this one (Meghoma). In no sane world could anybody possibly give that as a red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
“For a DOGSO, the next kick is a goal - that is what a DOGSO is. Aye, alright Jack Butland is off his line but we are not going to see a Kenny McLean in this one. But, under no circumstances could that ever be considered a DOGSO, and it's spectacular that we are even considering discussing it as such.”
Boyd and Sutton on Meghoma incident
Following the incident, Kris Boyd and Chris Sutton debated whether a yellow card was the right call in the Sky Sports studio. Boyd claimed that the Meghoma tackle was completely different to Leonard’s. He said: “It's not reckless. It's a high tackle. It's a foul, but Calvin Miller's touch is taking him away from goal. He's not in on goal. It's not the same as last week (Leonard incident)."
Meanwhile, Sutton believes neither should be given as a red card but wants to see more consistency from referees. He argued: “I didn't think Leonard's was a red card last week because there was too big a distance to travel. But if you're going to give that a red, then you have to give this a red as well."