Rangers manager Steven Gerrard saw red at half-time on Wednesday after confronting a match official over decisions he didn’t agree with.
Referee John Beaton was making his inside when an incensed Gerrard approached.
"I know why you won't speak to me, because you're [expletive] bang wrong," Gerrard seemingly said. "You're bang out of order."
Beaton’s stern face and words of warning weren’t the only thing Gerrard had to reckon with, as the referee brandished a yellow card and held it mid-air.
Gerrard began to walk away but kept arguing over his shoulder. That's when Beaton took out another yellow and a red card in quick succession, sending Gerrard off to miss his team’s game-winning performance in the second half. The game ended in a 1-0 result to the Rangers, after Livingston walked away goalless.
The 40-year-old manager was likely angered by Beaton’s 37th minute decision to book Alfredo Morelos for diving, instead of awarding the Rangers a penalty after the Livingston goalkeeper Max Stryjek’s outstretched arms made contact with the striker.
“It’s difficult to take the emotion out. You’re the manager of a club that hasn’t won the league for 10 years and your fans are desperate to get over the line and get there,” said Gerrard after the match.
Regardless, Morelos went on to score the game-winning goal at the 87th minute.
However, sanctions from the red card could mean that former Liverpool captain Gerrard, who joined Rangers FC as manager in 2018, could miss his side’s first league win in a decade on Saturday, should they win their clash against St Mirren.
The table-leaders could very well lift the Scottish Premiership trophy for the first time since the 2010-11 season. If they’re victorious, it would be a massive testament to Gerrard’s work with the team over the past two years.
The Scottish FA must first determine Gerrard’s punishment for confronting a match official.
