Marley Watkins in astonishing red card miss as Aberdeen’s '1980s' passback sends pundits’ heads spinning

Referee Matthew MacDermid and his VAR officials have been told the decision not to send Marley Watkins off for a flying elbow straight from kick-off was "inexplicable".

Both Neil McCann and James McFadden unanimously agreed that the Kilmarnock forward should've been red carded only three seconds into their Scottish Premiership win over Aberdeen for his challenge on Stefan Gartenmann, with his actions going unpunished. But Record Sport understands VAR did look at the flashpoint. The game kicked off with Aberdeen playmaker Leighton Clarkson playing the ball directly back to goalkeeper Kelle Roos, which immediately reminded former Rangers winger McCann of a scene from the 1980s. What subsequently followed was a tussle off the ball between Watkins and Dons defender Gartenmann, and footage shows that Watkins charges through his opponent with force with his left-arm outstretched.

The BBC pundits were left aghast and McCann believes the 33-year-old was lucky to escape serious punishment even so early on in the clash, which Killie won through a late David Watson goal, and questioned why Iain Sneddon on VAR chose not to intervene. He told Sportscene: "I think if it's a red card, it's a red card whether it's three or ninety three minutes.

"I've no idea what Watkins is doing here, and I've no idea what the VAR and then the referee are thinking of it either. I mean his elbow is up there, he's caught him in the back of the head. I think that's a red card, red card all day long for me."

McFadden chimed in quickly to agree with his colleague - calling it a shocker. He stated: "It's just madness. Three seconds doesn't matter. It does not matter. It is needless, it's a forearm smash to the back of the head and as Neil said, okay the