Hackett Exclusive: Rangers player should have been sent off in Hearts loss

Mohamed Diomande was lucky to avoid a red card in Rangers’ 2-1 loss to Hearts, Keith Hackett has said.

Diomande had a horror show as Rangers sank to their first league defeat in Danny Rohl’s tenure, and he was replaced by Youssef Chermiti at half-time at Tynecastle.

Before he was taken off, Diomande caught Oisin McEntee with a late tackle, but he was not booked, and VAR did not get involved.

Chermiti would notch a late consolation, but it was not enough for the Light Blues, and the hosts extended their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

What did Hackett say about Diomande incident in Hearts vs Rangers?

Keith Hackett, the former PGMOL chief, believes that Diomande should have been given his marching orders for the challenge.

Speaking exclusively to Ibrox News, he said: “This should have received a sanction, and frankly, in my opinion, the colour of the card should be red and put under the banner of Serious Foul Play.

“There is clearly excessive force, the challenge endangers the safety of the open. There was malice in that challenge.

“He should have seen red.“

• Read More: What Kris Boyd did live on air will surely anger Rangers fans after Hearts defeat

Rangers may have to move on from Diomande soon

Diomande is not having the required impact for Rohl‘s side at the moment.

He is supposed to create chances and fight to win the ball back, and he cannot do either in his current form.

• Diomande notched six goals and nine assists in 54 matches in all competitions last season
• He has one goal and one assist in 25 matches in this campaign so far
• He has regularly underwhelmed, even with the change in manager

Hackett claims he could have been sent off, but he essentially was anyway, with Rohl hooking him at the break.

That could signal that it is time to move from the Ivorian, as Rohl clearly did not rate his impact in the contest.

Diomande has not been the same player this season, and the new manager cannot seem to get the best out of him, so his time at Ibrox may be limited.

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