Scott Brown claimed referee Willie Collum crumbled under a “pressure decision” when he did not send off Fabio Silva in Rangers’ 2-0 win over cinch Championship side Ayr at Ibrox.
The Portuguese forward had been booked in the first half of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup last-16 tie where the home side took the lead after 10 minutes through a Borna Barisic strike which deflected in off Roy Syla, when he tackled George Granger after the break.
Collum resisted the temptation to flash a second yellow before he soon cautioned Brown for complaining – and then Silva, on loan from Wolves, netted the second after 76 minutes to take the Light Blues into the quarter-final draw.
Gers boss Philippe Clement had on Friday backed Collum despite Rangers reportedly asking the Scottish Football Association not to appoint the official to any of their games going forward after his part as the VAR official in a contentious non-penalty decision which went against them in their Old Firm derby defeat at the end of the year.
It was Collum’s first involvement with Rangers since and former Celtic captain Brown was unimpressed.
The Somerset Park boss said: “The second goal comes from a man who probably shouldn’t be on the park.
“It was a big decision, a pressure decision and it probably was not the right decision.
“I knew he was never going to get sent off, that it was never going to be a red card. I think if it had been the other way around it could have been.
“It was the pressure, coming into these big occasions. Some people can deal with it, some people can’t.
“Willie is used to giving me yellow cards – I think he has missed me.”
Asked if he had quizzed Collum about Silva’s challenge, Brown said: “There is no point, it doesn’t change anything. I was disappointed at the time and then he goes on and scores the goal.
“So it is a harsh lesson but for me it is more about us and how we performed.
“A young team having a belief, because a lot of Premiership teams will just come here and defend but we knew we had to try and play.
“We don’t have that huge target man so we had to try and play. We had to move the ball really well, we had a shape and structure. We were fine throughout the whole game. I never felt we would lose that many goals.”
Clement disagreed with Brown’s assessment of Silva’s tackle.
He said: “No, he got a kick on his leg in that action. You need to look closely at the images.
“He showed me there were studs (marks) on the top of his leg.”
Clement took the opportunity to make seven changes to his side.
Mohamed Diomande, the Ivorian midfielder signed from Danish Superliga club Nordsjaelland and Colombian winger Oscar Cortes – on loan from Lens – were handed were handed their first starts, with the latter particularly impresssive in the hour he played.
Clement spoke about a “positive evening” in his assessment.
He said: “After three minutes we could have scored two goals. In football you also need a little bit of luck and that was not on our side today in the finishing, and all respect also to our opponents, who gave their lives to stop the goals, also in the second half by making saves on the goal line.
“It is a positive evening. The other positive thing is to play that kind of game for so many fans, that is maybe the most positive thing of the evening. In that way, I would have wished to give the fans more goals.”
Vilahamn wants to use FA Cup final defeat as 'beginning' for Tottenham Women
Tottenham Women manager Robert Vilahamn believes his side will use their FA Cup final defeat to start something special, rather than ending their good work.
Spurs were hammered 4-0 by Manchester United Women in Sunday's Wembley Stadium showpiece as Ella Toone and Rachel Williams were on target before Lucia Garcia's second-half double.
Vilahamn's side failed to manage a shot on target but the Spurs boss suggested his team will catch up to the women's elite clubs.
"The main thing I said was this is not the end, it is the beginning," Vilahamn said.
"We still have a gap between us and the top teams but that's normal. We are closing the gap but we haven't closed the gap yet."
Tottenham finished sixth in the Women's Super League as well as reaching this final, their first FA Cup showpiece appearance in their short history.
Vilahamn wants his Spurs players to use this defeat as motivation going forward.
"If you take away the feelings right now, you need to look at these players doing some incredible things this year," he said.
"We are at Wembley playing in front of our fans and they are actually enjoying it and staying, and supporting us after.
"We got a good experience today and we are learning how to play at Wembley more times. We need to look at it that way because the players are amazing."
'Not a good sign' – Keane unimpressed by Man Utd's injured absentees
Roy Keane was left questioning the attitudes of Manchester United's players as the Red Devils were once again without numerous key players for Sunday's loss to Arsenal.
Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Lisandro Martinez were among the notable names to miss out for the 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford, as Erik ten Hag bemoaned continued injury issues.
Martinez and Harry Maguire's absence ensured Ten Hag had to field Jonny Evans and makeshift centre-back partner Casemiro in defence, with the latter at fault for Leandro Trossard's winning goal.
Wayne Rooney vocalised his concerns over the application of United's players and Keane, speaking on Sky Sports, echoed his thoughts as he questioned the prolonged absence of some.
"Obviously, that's not a good sign," Keane said of players not returning from injury. "You'd hope players who are carrying injuries are desperate to get back playing again.
"There is always a worry, there are always players at every club that can drag their heels with an injury.
"Generally, players I played with when they were given a period they'd be injured for, they were always trying to knock a week off it and get back playing for Manchester United or whatever club they're at."
Without a host of key players, United have conceded in 10 successive games in all competitions for the first time since October 2021.
The Red Devils' 82 goals they have conceded this season is their most since 1970-71 (also 82), too, as United continue to disappoint in the 2023-23 campaign.
United have also lost 19 games in all competitions this season, their most since 1977-78 (also 19), while their nine defeats at Old Trafford this term are their joint-most at home in a single campaign.
Keane says the concerns over players not racing back to fitness is not unusual, though it does little to aid Ten Hag's plight.
"It's always a worry but I have to say, it goes on at lots of football clubs," the United great said.
"There are lots of players out there when they have an injury, they're not in the hurry to get back in the team. I think that's obvious and happens at lots of football clubs."
Leverkusen ready to become first team to play unbeaten Bundesliga season, says Alonso
Bayer Leverkusen are ready to become the first team in Bundesliga history to go an entire season unbeaten, coach Xabi Alonso said after Sunday's 5-0 demolition of Bochum.
Treble-chasing Leverkusen cruised past Bochum, who had Felix Passlack sent off in the 15th minute, to stretch their remarkable unbeaten run across all competitions this season to 50 consecutive matches.
On Thursday, Alonso's team surpassed Benfica's long-standing European unbeaten record set from 1963 to 1965 with a 2-2 draw against Roma that sent them through to the Europa League final.
Sunday's win over Bochum also meant they became only the third team in Bundesliga history to remain unbeaten in every away match of a season.
"After that red card it was a completely different game for us," Alonso told a press conference.
"I am very satisfied with the result. It was important for us. Now we have a super goal on Saturday to win the title without any defeat. That has never happened before."
Leverkusen, who face Atalanta in the Europa League showpiece match and take on Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal final later in May, entertain Augsburg at home in Saturday's Bundesliga finale where they will also receive their first-ever league trophy.
"To receive the title in Leverkusen will be very special," said Alonso. "The players have been focused the entire season so for them it will be very special. I am proud of them."
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