Collum backs yellow card for Trusty against Rangers

A decision not to show a red card to Celtic's Auston Trusty in their Premier Sports Cup semi-final win over Rangers has been backed by Scottish FA head of referees Willie Collum.

Rangers had written to the SFA to request an explanation as they believed referee Nick Walsh should have shown more than a yellow card to the centre-half for his challenge on goalkeeper Jack Butland at Hampden last month.

The SFA's independent key match incident (KMI) panel last week agreed by a majority of two to one that Trusty should have been sent off.

But Collum told the Scottish Football VAR Review: "We can support the yellow card here, but it is also important to say there is a subjective element to this decision and we fully respect people's opinion if they think that's a red card."

He admitted that "15 years ago, this is a red" card but pointed out that the incident was viewed as "violent conduct" rather than "serious foul play" under current rules.

"The goalkeeper is in possession of the ball when the contact is made, so we don't regard this as a challenge for the ball," Collum explained.

Walsh and the video assistant referee (VAR) team then had to decide "whether excessive force" was used.

"The referee comes to the conclusion there's not enough force, it is not brutality for him and the contact is negligible," Collum said.

He said this was clear from the recording of the onfield communication between Walsh and the VAR team.

"You immediately hear him say reckless yellow and then he's in a long conversation with the captain of Rangers, but at that point he is also communicating with the VAR and he talks about the level of force," Collum added.

"He also talks about the studs and, for him, there's no use of the studs here. The VAR look at the images and they don't see anything either that tells them anything other than that."