adminNeil McCann fumes over Rangers flashpoint as he claims James Tavernier should have been sent off
The moment that truly infuriated the Kilmarnock manager came just before Miovski struck to give Rangers some much-needed breathing space.
Neil McCann believes Rangers captain James Tavernier should have been shown a red card for a second-half incident involving Killie forward Ty John-Jules.
McCann was forced to watch his side battle for nearly the entire match with 10 men after Dom Thompson was dismissed in the fourth minute.
While the Rugby Park boss accepted the referee’s decision to send his player off, he was furious that a similar incident involving the Ibrox skipper went unpunished.
The contentious moment occurred shortly before Miovski’s goal, when McCann felt Tavernier committed a last-man foul on John-Jules.
Referee David Dickinson waved away the appeals, a decision that left the Killie bench seething.
Kilmarnock did manage to pull one back late on through Greg Kiltie, but they had earlier passed up a prime opportunity to draw level when Bruce Anderson missed a gilt-edged chance following Tavernier’s early opener.
Speaking after the match, McCann said he was immensely proud of his players’ performance under difficult circumstances.
“Going down to 10 men so early, I thought we were absolutely brilliant against a team like Rangers,” he said.
“I don’t think Dom sees Gassama coming. Gassama initiates the contact — he slows down, bumps him and goes down. I can understand why the referee showed the red card.
“But what really frustrates me is that I believe Tavernier should also have been sent off. Ty has no reason to go down — it’s a clear push from behind and he’s clean through from the ball over the top.
“I’m hearing there’s supposedly not much contact, but it’s virtually identical to what Dom was penalised for. I genuinely can’t understand why it wasn’t a red card.”
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