Jack Butland: Hard to accept Auston Trusty not sent off for Old Firm derby foul
Jack Butland admits it is “difficult to accept” Celtic defender Auston Trusty was not sent off for his challenge on the Rangers goalkeeper in Sunday’s Old Firm game.
The Ibrox side were reduced to 10 men in the 38th minute of the Premier Sports Cup semi-final, which they eventually lost 3-1, when Thelo Aasgaard was dismissed for a foul on Celtic’s Anthony Ralston.
However, the Gers’ main complaint centred around referee Nick Walsh’s decision to only show a yellow card to Trusty for appearing to kick at the head of the prostrate Butland as he held the ball in the final moments of the first half, despite a VAR review.
Rangers said afterwards they remained “unsatisfied” following a meeting with the Scottish Football Association to discuss key incidents during the game.
Butland, speaking at the club’s training ground where he was promoting Rangers’ Big Ibrox Sleep out hosted by the club’s charity foundation, said: “There’s been a lot of a lot of opinions on it.
“At the time, I thought it was late. Was there a massive amount of malice involved? Not necessarily, but was it mis-timed?
“As a keeper when you’re putting yourself in that position to be brave and go to intercept the ball, you’d like to think that you’re protected in a sense from things like that.
“Seeing that afterwards, it was perhaps later than I thought in real time as well.
“So a difficult one to accept.
“Obviously conversations that have been had since. Difficult to accept that that’s perhaps a precedent that is going to continue, if that’s a similar situation against any team, regardless of who it is.
“I think there’ll be more discussions on it just for a few more answers, but I think I share the views of probably the majority on it.”
Butland believes Rangers’ Europa League woes have added to the sense of frustration that has enveloped Ibrox this season.
The Light Blues reached the quarter-finals of the tournament last season before being knocked out by Athletic Bilbao.
However, now under new head coach Danny Rohl, Thursday night’s 2-0 home defeat by Roma kept them bottom of the 36-team table without a point from four games.
Gers fans again protested against chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell, who have been accused of poor recruitment over the summer.
Butland said: “It’s difficult for everybody at the club.
“What we all hope to see compared to where we’re at, is obviously what’s creating a lot of frustration, a lot of tension on all sides from fans, from staff, from players.
“There’s been a lot of changes, a lot of moving parts, a lot of new players.
“Now, that’s no excuse, but it’s a reality and it’s something that we need to do better with, regardless of how that Europa League table finishes.
“We can’t accept where we’re at right now, regardless of what’s happened.
“So it’s something that we need to take personally and something that we need to do better in in the remaining four games and see where that takes us.”