Rangers red card conspiracy theory leaves Gio van Bronckhorst confused as he salutes Livingston quick thinking

Rangers boss Gio van Bronckhorst has shrugged off the claim that Livingston boss David Martindale was told to sub off Phillip Cancar for a foul on Scott Wright.

The Lions gaffer moved swiftly to substitute the Australian defender in the first half of the Premiership opener as the visiting players and fans protested he should already have been shown a second yellow card by whistler Don Robertson. The heavy challenge on Wright went unpunished at the Tony Macaroni Arena before Cristian Montano hastily replaced his teammate.

The Ibrox boss reckons Livingston got away with one during their 2-1 victory in West Lothian, but conceded it was a clever move from rival boss Martindale to make the quick switch following the lunge on the Rangers winger. Cancar's substitution came with his side protecting a 1-0 lead after man-of-the match Joel Nouble's lob early on, before Scott Arfield and James Tavernier turned the game around.

However, ahead of the Champions League clash with Union Saint Gilloise the gaffer was put on the spot about the call during his pre-match press conference. One interviewer claimed Robertson had advised the Lions bench to replace the full-back, stating: "I wanted to ask you something about Saturday, if that's ok. We saw a situation where Livingston possibly a clear second yellow card for their full-back Cancar.

"Instead of that happening the official called over the captain, which more or less told the bench to make an immediate substitution, which they did. Obviously the Rangers bench wasn't happy about that. I wondered if you had asked for an explanation, or if the club had, in terms of you obviously might see that in a friendly game, but for the first competitive game I wondered if you had any thoughts