Aberdeen continued their poor run with a 2-0 loss at Motherwell – a game which some might label controversial from a refereeing standpoint.
The man in charge at Fir Park was Nick Walsh, assisted on VAR by Gavin Duncan.
Let’s look at the fixture’s big flashpoint:
With Motherwell newly 1-0 up in the first half, any chance of the Dons getting back into the game were seriously impeded by Walsh’s call to send off Reds centre-half Slobodan Rubezic.
As time wound down on the opening period, Rubezic had the ball around the halfway line, just in front of the Motherwell dugout.
As he tussled with Well’s Tony Watt, he couldn’t do enough to keep the ball in play and ran it out for a throw-in, hitting the deck in the process.
Watt, in response, clearly leaned down to say something – I imagine not very friendly – to Rubezic.
Hook, line, and sinker, Rubezic took the bait, responding by quickly leaping to his feet, and in the process moving his head up towards the bent-over Watt’s head, before pushing the opposition player to the ground.
Referee Walsh was quick to blow his whistle, and then appeared to be in conversation with the fourth official as he debated what card to show to the Rubezic for his reaction.
Ultimately, after briefly conferring with his fellow official, a red card was shown and Aberdeen were down to 10 men.
As far as moments of head-to-head contact go, it was relatively soft.
There wasn’t a lot of contact before the shove, and Watt, who was clearly trying to get a reaction out of the Aberdeen player, made an absolute meal of Rubezic’s actions.
But, based on what happened, and under the rules of the modern game with regards violent conduct – “a player who, when not challenging for the ball, deliberately strikes an opponent or any other person on the head or face” – I would go as far to say Rubezic’s reaction would result in a red card in close to 100% of instances.
As a result of the wording, as soon as you motion with your head towards a player, you are asking the referee to make a decision, and the subsequent two-handed push to floor Watt would only have served to tip the officials towards dismissal.
Rubezic made his first mistake in falling for the antics from Watt.
VAR looked at the incident, but naturally – due to incident and the rules – backed the referee’s call to show the red card.
Finlay Elder was a registered referee for six years and a category 5 official from 2019, with experience in the Highland League, Juniors and Club Academy.
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