A former referee has unleashed sharp criticism against a Celtic star following the team’s victory over Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup final.
Brendan Rodgers’ side clinched a thrilling win on Sunday, with the match ending 3-3 after extra time before Daizen Maeda capitalized on a Ridvan Yilmaz miss to secure a 5-4 penalty shootout triumph. Cameron Carter-Vickers played a pivotal role, making several crucial blocks during the game. However, the USA international was involved in a controversial moment when he was struck by Rangers substitute Cyriel Dessers, who received a booking for the challenge.
Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett has taken issue with Carter-Vickers’ reaction to the incident. He accused the Celtic defender of exaggerating the impact in an attempt to provoke referee John Beaton into showing a red card, a situation that was not reviewed by VAR.
Speaking to Ibrox News, Hackett remarked: “Dessers’ challenge was reckless, and a yellow card was the correct decision. However, Carter-Vickers’ reaction was over the top, and I believe he was trying to manipulate the referee into upgrading the card to red.
“This was not a case of serious foul play. I would like to see post-match reviews by a special panel to address such attempts to deceive referees.”
