Dundee United manager Micky Mellon refused to be drawn into the controversy surrounding Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos.
Mellon, who had returned to the dugout after a period of self-isolation, wasn’t standing too far away at Tannadice when Morelos struck United defender Mark Connolly in the face with his arm.
The Colombian received just a booking but it could so easily have been a red instead from referee Steven McLean.
As he reflected upon the league leaders’ 2-1 win over his side, Mellon opted to stay out of the row.
Referee makes decisions
The Tannadice boss said: “I wouldn’t want the opposition manager standing here and talking about my players.
“Everyone will have their opinion at home but the referee makes the decisions.
“What is important for us is Dundee United and being the best version of ourselves.”
Ibrox boss Steven Gerrard was rather prickly with his reply when asked about the Morelos incident.
“Why would I speak to him about that?” asked Gerrard.
“I didn’t see an elbow. If you look at him again, there’s no elbow there. The referee saw it and dealt with it.
“It was a foul and a yellow card and it’s been dealt with.
“But if you look at it again, next time I see you you’ll say it wasn’t an elbow.”
Step in right direction
The Tangerines levelled the game through Liam Smith’s first goal for the club after James Tavernier’s brilliant freekick opener for the visitors. Connor Goldson headed home what turned out to be the winner just before the break.
Mellon called the display a “step in the right direction” for his team despite taking no points.
He said: “The movement from Liam for the goal was great and something we’ve worked on.
“We knew we would have to be good at it against a Rangers team we knew would have possession.
“We knew we would have to be good in the turnovers and creating chances and when they came along like they did show the quality we did to try and get a goal.
“The very minimum I wanted to take was that I would be disappointed we didn’t get something and to be thinking that, although hard to accept because we’re all winners, it goes towards us doing what we want to do which is moving the club forward.
“We’re only 17 games into a new level for us which I have to keep reminding everyone because this group hasn’t played at this level for many years so we’re trying to grow something.
“Games like today’s allow us to look at where we’re at as a football club. We got an awful lot of things right and things we will continue to try and get better at as we move on through the season.
“As gutted as we are, it’s a step in the right direction for the football club in terms of making it competitive against Rangers.”
Delight for Tavernier
As for the runaway Premiership leaders, Tavernier was understandably delighted to score such a spectacular freekick.
The Ibrox skipper said: “I really enjoyed it, especially with the distance it was from.
“I was practising the other day and I am really happy it came through today.
“I’ve always said I am happy to contribute to the game and help the boys. Really, I’m just delighted that we came away with the three points.”