Dermot Gallagher earns Rangers fan roasting as former referee accused of inconsistency over Alfredo Morelos incident

The whistler has come under fire after old comments on a Ryan Jack red card for Rangers were shared following his belief Ryan Edwards shouldn't have been sent off.

They say an elephant never forgets but it's nothing compared to the total recall of a football fan.

Dermot Gallagher probably doesn't even remember an incident involving Ryan Jack at Pittodrie three years ago but it was quickly brought back up by Rangers fans after his appearance on Sky Sports News on Monday.

The former English Premier League whistler was discussing the incident involving Ryan Edwards and Alfredo Morelos when he claimed the Dundee United defender didn't deserve to get sent off.

He backed Kevin Clancy's decision not to award a free kick and insisted that winning the ball meant it was fine, despite the follow through on Morelos' leg.

That left the Colombian with a huge gash on his knee but Gallagher had told Sky Sports: "This tackle will split lots and lots of people because many people think it’s a red card and a lot of people think it’s not.

"I actually don’t because Edwards plays the ball first, he gets the ball first. It’s unfortunate he follows through and catches Morelos across the knee.

"What you would say is without a doubt he gets the ball and because of Morelos coming in towards him he catches him. It’s inevitable but I don’t think it’s a red card.

"I take everything in isolation, I don’t go collectively on everything.

"I judge everything on its merits and what I would say is Ryan Edwards, without doubt, has played the ball first. He hasn’t gone in with a raised boot, he’s followed through and it’s a consequence of his tackle.

"I think Morelos goes in to win the ball, he gets there slightly after Edwards and I think it’s inevitable there will be a collision and there is a collision and it I unfortunate but you can’t judge every challenge on a physical outcome, you have to judge it on the tackle is made.

"If someone picks up an injury as a consequence of a challenge it can be accidental and I think this is."

Naturally, in the world of Scottish football, it was quickly pointed out that Gallagher had a different view when discussing Jack's red card against Aberdeen in 2017.

In a similar incident, the Rangers midfielder played a pass before following through and catching Stevie May. He was shown a straight red card on the day by Willie Collum.

At the time, Gallagher said: "I think this is a great spot by the referee. Not only is it a great spot, but he reacted very, very quickly, which stopped players going to him.

"This is quite ironic in that without doubt the player clearly plays the ball, but he does seriously endanger the safety of an opponent.

Rangers FC

• Ryan Edwards faces suspension sweat
• Why horror tackle was a red
• Gerrard backs Tav for 'trophy reward'
• Daniel Johnson transfer latest

"No doubt whatsoever that is a red card offence. But it does show that because you play the ball, it doesn’t exonerate you from further punishment."

Some supporters took to Twitter with @Gersnetonline tweeting: “This shows the problem regarding both refereeing and punditry in football. Consistency is such an important virtue.”

@Tagsbo added: “Dermot Gallagher is a complete hypocrite.”

@Trinityroad82 added: “Do we have to follow Dermot Gallagher by never disagreeing with an on-field refereeing decision?”