The REAL reason behind 'help' of Rangers star Tom Lawrence from ref amid 'don't tackle' VAR audio storm

Craig Moore insists that the reason reason referee Ross Hardie told Tom Lawrence 'not to tackle' a Ross County player a clash with Rangers is because it has ALWAYS happened.

Philippe Clement 's team ran riot at Hampden Park that day but following the release of VAR audio from the game a new talking point has emerged. The game was poised at 1-0 when winger Aidan Denholm broke forward before being tackled by Lawrence - with the Rangers midfielder being told several times 'don't tackle there Tom!' which was picked up by the microphone.

Whistler Hardie then declares the Welshman has "played the ball" - and eventually the Light Blues would go on to double their lead after the successful tackle by Lawrence. The plea with the player to avoid the tackle has raised eyebrows of supporters - but former Rangers captain Moore insists it's nothing new.

Discussing the call on the Go Radio Football Show, Moore said: "I think people are getting a little bit excited about some audio that was released of a referee telling Tom Lawrence not to tackle. Just to reassure fans, this is something that has happened for a long, long time. I remember playing games where a referee would say 'easy, easy, stay on your feet' - you do get communication like this from referees..."

Host Paul Cooney chimed in: "The ref would be kind of helping you..." But was cut off by Moore and shut down the suggestion of help: "It's not even helping you, it's protecting you. Nobody wants to see anything other than 22 players on the field. The referees do give that kind of feedback during a game. It's not new."

In case you haven't heard, we've launched a new Hotline Live show, airing at 6pm every day, with the exception of Fridays and Saturdays.

Join our panel for a