Scottish referees urged to ‘fix the madness’ as claim made over four red card decisions

captain has urged Scottish referees to address what he described as the “madness” surrounding red cards for denying obvious goalscoring opportunities.

The Steelmen were reduced to nine men during their 2-0 defeat to in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup on Wednesday, with both Oscar Priestman and Liam Gordon sent off.

Priestman’s dismissal came just two minutes into the match after he slipped and fouled Lyall Cameron. Motherwell argued the ball appeared to be running through to goalkeeper Matty Connelly. Gordon’s red card proved even more contentious, arriving after he brought down Toyosi Olusanya three yards inside Aberdeen’s half.

Referee initially issued a yellow card but upgraded it to red following a VAR review, despite McGinn and Stephen O’Donnell tracking back in support.

Asked whether he believed he could have recovered the situation, McGinn insisted: “All day long. He still had to run with the ball. If he beats me to that, then maybe it’s time for me to hang up my boots.

“This has happened four times recently — it’s not a one-off. I saw Liam Henderson at Falkirk sent off — never a red. The Dundee United lad Iurie Iovu the other night — never a red. And I don’t think Auston Trusty’s at Hearts for Celtic was a red either.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but they need to fix it and fix it quickly.

“You could maybe understand it if the referee had made a split-second call and they decided not to overturn it. But I’m speaking to Aberdeen players and they’re all saying it can’t be a red card.”

McGinn admitted Motherwell lacked cutting edge in attack but maintained the officiating decisions need urgent review. “We were a bit toothless in the box,” he added. “But hopefully they can sort out the madness I’m seeing.”