Michael Beale's Rangers ineptitude fuelled Aberdeen conspiracy theory but I'm not buying it - Hugh Keevins

Aberdeen verging on selling out their ticket allocation for the Viaplay Cup Final with Rangers is what marketing types call conspicuous consumption.

A remarkable uptake of 19,500 seats to see a team who were, at Celtic Park last Sunday, only conspicuous by their absence. Victims of a six-goal battering that could have reached double figures on a day when there were elements of a pub team about Barry Robson’s side. The challenge, for want of a better word, by Dons defender Slobodan Rubezic on Kyogo Furuhashi was straight off that public park environment where there are no boundaries on physicality and basically anything goes.

Referee Willie Collum and VAR John Beaton had a duty of care to protect the players and, in my opinion, they failed the Japanese striker who had to be taken to hospital for an examination of his head injury. Kyogo’s well-being was endangered and the yellow card response to Rubezic’s actions was negligent.

Then there was the Aberdeen keeper Kelle Roos attempting to obliterate the penalty spot with his boot after a spot-kick had been awarded when his team-mate Jack McKenzie cleaned out Oh Hyeon-gyu in the six-yard box. It was an infantile gesture during live transmission of the game from Scotland’s flagship competition.

Another public park moment. But, having said all that, I don’t subscribe to the accusation put forward by studio pundit Kris Boyd that it is a “fact” Aberdeen drop their standards whenever they play Celtic and raise their game when Rangers are the opposition.

As will be the case in the league at Pittodrie on Sunday – and Hampden for the cup final two weeks after that. You need only vision when Kris is doing his match-day TV punditry.

There is no need to turn up the volume –