Celtic hero Kenny Dalglish has insisted Michael Beale did the "right thing" when he allowed Partick Thistle to score during Rangers Scottish Cup clash last weekend.
Beale's decision has divided the Ibrox fanbase and the wider football world over his call to allow the Jags to make it 2-2 moments after Malik Tillman's goal had left the visitors fuming because of a huge misunderstanding. Ex-Celtic striker Chris Sutton has opened up a feud with Beale over their differing viewpoints, but Dalglish is very much in the camp of the Rangers manager.
It comes after Light Blues supporters unveiled a banner at Livingston on Saturday which underlined only two trophies won since 2011 amid Beale's "standards" claim in the wake of the incident against Partick.
READ MORE: Michael Beale responds to Rangers 'standards' banner as boss 'understands' pointed cup final message
Writing in his Sunday Post column, Dalglish said: "Personally, I thought it was the right thing to do. Given the circumstances of the situation in the Scottish Cup tie, he was left with no option. Michael, his players and Rangers, would have been vilified had they not taken that action to allow the score to go to 2-2. Some of the Ibrox supporters inside the stadium weren’t happy with the decision and they are entitled to their opinion.
"But anything else would have shone a poor light on Rangers and left young Malik Tillman in an unwanted degree of negativity. It was good sportsmanship from Michael and he should be applauded for it. If anyone wants to criticise him then they are free to do so. But I don’t think it reflects well on anyone who says it was the wrong action to take."
Dalglish also believes the incident only took attention away from a string of poor officiating during the match. Both teams were awarded dubious penalties while the handball rule has come in for scrutiny once again.
He added: "It has deflected away from another poor round of calls from the match referee and VAR in that game. Partick Thistle got a penalty for handball against Antonio Colak. It was never a penalty. This handball rule really has to go. It’s ruining the game.
"Rangers were also awarded a spot-kick when Tillman was fouled. The offence was outside the box. Again, a poor decision by all. It is alarming the amount of calls our officials are getting wrong on a regular basis. But this is not exclusive to Scotland. The English Premier League had their own howlers last weekend."
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