Bobby Madden: Reo Hatate Should Have ‘Undoubtedly’ Seen Red vs Kilmarnock

Former Scottish Premiership referee Bobby Madden thinks Reo Hatate should have ‘undoubtedly’ seen red versus Kilmarnock.

The Hoops Travelled to Ayrshire yesterday and picked up three valuable Scottish Premiership points courtesy of goals from captain Callum McGregor and Nicolas Kuhn.

While the win can be seen as routine from a Celtic perspective, the Game was in no way short of controversy.

Liam Donnelly was lucky his elbow didn’t connect with Kasper Schmeichel late in the match, while opinions appear to be split on Reo Hatate’s second-half challenge.

The Japanese midfielder recklessly lunged in on his opponent in the middle of the park with his studs showing.

A yellow card was given to the 26-year-old by referee Nick Walsh. Chris Sutton thought he was ‘lucky’ to escape a sending-off, whilst Derek McInnes didn’t think much of it.

Former Scottish top-flight official Madden, however, thinks Hatate certainly should have had his marching orders.

The now-retired official took to Instagram after yesterday’s Game: “Here, you see the Celtic player misjudge the ball, then lunges in, [and] makes contact with the studs on the knee,” he said.

“Undoubtedly, this should be a red card for serious foul play, as it endangers the safety of the opponent. The contact is there, so a red card should have been recommended by VAR.”

Hatate was perhaps fortunate to stay on the park after his strong challenge.

Losing him through suspension for the trip to Tynecastle a week on Saturday would have been a bitter blow to Brendan Rodgers, who thinks Celtic have an ‘ultra-marathon’ lying in wait after the international break.