Jose Cifuentes Rangers card vs Dundee branded 'shocking' by 'speechless' ex-Ibrox star as VAR decision assessed

Former Rangers striker Kenny Miller was left exasperated by a VAR decision that led him to drop an accidental f-bomb live on air as he reacted to Jose Cifuentes' red card against Dundee.

The legendary former Gers frontman couldn't believe his eyes after the Ecuadorian midfielder was sent off just before half-time for catching Amadou Bakayoko high on the shin at Ibrox.

Bakayoko's strike had given the visitors an early 5th minute lead but Cyriel Dessers levelled before James Tavernier's penalty and Abdallah Sima's header turned the game on its head. But it was Cifuentes' dismissal that was the main talking point.

The midfielder was initially shown a yellow card by Kevin Clancy for the late challenge, but the referee was urged to visit the pitch side monitor to review the incident. After looking at the screen, Clancy decided to upgrade his on-field decision to a red for 'serious foul play', much to the dismay of the home crowd.

And a fuming Miller criticised the call for what he described as a 'dangling leg' before letting his emotion spill over on BBC Sportsound.

Miller stated: “I don’t know where we are going with this. Ah, f**k. It’ll be a red card, but I don’t think it’s a red. He’s not gone in there to hurt Bakayoko. He’s caught him on the shin but there’s no great force, very little force if I could say that. Yes he’s caught him halfway up the shin but I don’t know where we are going with this.

"I’m speechless. He’s dangled a leg in there and it’s caught him on the top of the shin. Big deal. It’s a booking and not a red card, but this is where we are with VAR. It’s a harsh penalty on Dundee earlier too for the holding and now you have Rangers down to 10 men, for what is a shocking decision for me.”

Was Kevin Clancy correct to show Cifuentes a red card?

According to the latter of the law, Clancy made the correct decision to send Cifuentes for an early bath. However, a booking could easily have sufficed due to the player's momentum and lack of malicious intent in the tackle. Yes, Cifuentes' studs were showing but Clancy's original decision would indicate he felt a yellow card was sufficient enough at the time before VAR intervened.