The Sky Sports gantry was quick to call on referee Don Robertson after an unpopular decision he made during the dramatic 2-2 draw between Hearts and Rangers at Tynecastle on Wednesday, 28 October.

With Celtic being held to a 2-2 draw by Dundee United, Derek McInnes‘ side had the perfect chance to close the gap with the Hoops to two points. However, Hearts extended their unbeaten run at Tynecastle in the Scottish Premiership to 26 games after playing out a draw with the visitors.

Claudio Braga and Calvin Miller netted for the hosts, while Kevin Kelsy and Olwethu Makhanya found the back of the net for Rangers. The game produced several talking points, with Emmanuel Fernandez producing a calamitous performance and Minsu Kim and Djeidi Gassama disappointing big time.

There were no big contention refereeing decisions from referee Robertson, but one particular incident left James McFadden infuriated in the Sky Sports gantry. With the Light Blues looking to break rapidly into the opposition half following a fluid, eye-catching sequence of play, the match official unexpectedly blew his whistle to bring play back, robbing Rangers of a clear attacking advantage.

Why James McFadden was furious with Don Robertson in Hearts vs Rangers

The move began with a crisp pass out from Fernandez, finding Naderi, who executed a brilliant, delicate flick around the corner to send Rangers bursting forward in transition.

While possession fell to Gassama, with James Penrice making a lung-bursting overlapping run, Robertson blew his whistle to penalise Malachi Fagan-Walcott for a foul on Naderi, although no cards were dished out – much to the astonishment of McFadden on commentary. He said (20:26, 28 October):

It’s a lovely flick [from Naderi]. Great pass from Fernandez. Naderi with a little bit of a flick around the corner, and Rangers had possession, with Gassama, with Penrice making the move up the wing. Unless he’s going to give him a yellow card, but even then he could go back and give it to him later on. I just don’t know why he’s stopped the game there.

The decision by Robertson to stop play rather than allow advantage raised eyebrows, especially given modern refereeing guidelines that encourage officials to let attacking sequences run their course before issuing delayed disciplinary cards.

Nevertheless, it did not matter for Rangers, as they produced an underwhelming performance on McInnes’ highly anticipated return to Tynecastle. The Gers boss cut a frustrated figure on the touchline and was visibly furious with Gassama at one point.

McInnes has big questions to answer before he picks his lineup for Saturday’s League Cup semi-final clash against Aberdeen. It is evident that Rangers fans want Fernandez to be dropped from the XI.