Despite Celtic’s overwhelming 6-0 victory against Aberdeen in the League Cup semi-final, Brendan Rodgers found himself in an unexpected limelight for a reason unrelated to his team’s strong performance.
Frustrated by a run of wasteful play, the Celtic manager allowed his emotions to get the best of him, resulting in a slight accident on the touchline and an unexpected yellow card.
With his team up three goals before halftime, Rodgers was visibly upset by some poor passing. His patience snapped as a loose ball rolled his way, and he attempted to kick it back onto the pitch—only for things to go spectacularly wrong. Rodgers stumbled on the wet Hampden touchline, misjudging his balance and landing down on the ground, a humiliating sight for the Northern Irishman as he sought to regain his composure.
To add insult to injury, the referee quickly issued a yellow card for Rodgers’ interference, which prevented Aberdeen from taking a swift throw-in. However, veteran Scottish referee Bobby Madden resorted to social media to express his belief that Rodgers got off lightly. According to Madden, the regulation theoretically requires a red card in circumstances where a manager intentionally interferes with play to stall the opposition.
Madden Explains on the letter of the law
Madden wrote on Instagram, “The referee should be praised in this instance because you see the ball leave the field of play for a throw-in to Aberdeen and the Celtic manager clearly kicks the ball away, delaying the restart for his opponent.” The laws clearly state that this should result in a red card, but the referee used common sense and only awarded a yellow card. “Common sense prevails.”
Despite the brief time, Rodgers did not let it dampen the mood following the game. When asked about the booking at his post-match press conference, the Hoops manager was amused. He laughed off the situation, telling SunSport, “To be fair, it was well deserved.” I was upset that we had lost the ball, but I shouldn’t have kicked it there. It was a little slippy on the surface, but I got back up quickly after falling—probably out of embarrassment!”
Celtic’s outstanding performance has propelled them to the League Cup final, with the manager’s touchline gaffe just a minor blip in an otherwise flawless performance. Why Madden felt compelled to bring it up if he believes a yellow was the correct call is a question for him to answer.
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