Dundee United midfielder accepts ban for shocking lunge on Turnbull

Originally posted on The Celtic Star | Last updated 12/8/21

Calum Butcher has accepted a three-match ban after his shocking tackle on David Turnbull was cited by the SFA. The tackle on Sunday came as Celtic dominated the game, winning 3-0 thanks to goals from Tom Rogic, Turnbull and Liam Scales but the controversy came from the decisions of officials during the game. There were a number of offsides called wrongly but it was Butcher’s potential legbreaker, which Don Robertson flashed a yellow after despite the replays indicating how bad a tackle it was.

Here’s Butcher’s tackle on Turnbull which saw the Dundee United player yellow carded during the match against Celtic pic.twitter.com/yN2u9s0MPO

— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) December 7, 2021

The 30-year-old will now miss three games after his tackle was upgraded by the Disciplinary team at the SFA. The pundits that were working for Sky Sports all blasted the challenge, emphasising how lucky Turnbull was to escape uninjured from the tackle. This season, Celtic players have been on the end of some bad tackles and questionable calls, the league need to expedite the implementation of VAR in Scotland. Until then, the uneven playing field created by poor refereeing will continue to allow bad challenges and mistakes by officials.

This article first appeared on The Celtic Star and was syndicated with permission.

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