John Lundstram was sent off in the 65th minute when he cynically brought down Martyn Boyle 45 yards from the Hibs' goal in Rangers' 2-2 draw at Easter Road.

It was a professional foul and Lundstram was taking what he clearly thought would be a yellow card to help the team find their way out of a dangerous situation.

When Willie Collum flashed a red card the Scouser looked taken aback while Sky pundits also questioned the whistler's decision.

So what do the IFAB Laws of the Game say about the situation?

Sending-off offences (from IFAB Laws)

A player, substitute or substituted player who commits any of the following offences is sent off:

  • denying the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by a handball offence (except a goalkeeper within their penalty area)
  • denying a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent whose overall movement is towards the offender’s goal by an offence punishable by a free kick (unless as outlined below)
  • serious foul play
  • biting or spitting at someone
  • violent conduct
  • using offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or action(s)
  • receiving a second caution in the same match
  • entering the video operation room (VOR)
  • A player, substitute or substituted player who has been sent off must leave the vicinity of the field of play and the technical area.

From that, there can only be two options that suggest why Lundstram was sent from the field - Collum had to believe the tackle was either violent conduct or serious foul play.

So let's look at each to understand the referee's thought process.

Violent conduct (From IFAB Laws)

Violent conduct is when a player uses or attempts to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball, or against a team-mate, team official, match official, spectator or any other person, regardless of whether contact is made.

In addition, a player who, when not challenging for the ball, deliberately strikes an opponent or any other person on the head or face with the hand or arm, is guilty of violent conduct unless the force used was negligible.

Serious foul play (From IFAB Laws)

A tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality must be sanctioned as serious foul play.

Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play.

From this, it's clear that Lundstram's challenge doesn't fall into the violent conduct category. Collum must therefore believe that the tackle is serious foul play and is a lunge that shows excessive force or endangers Boyle.

It's hard to agree when watching the replays that can be seen in the video above. The contact looks enough to bring the player down but not to cause any harm.

With these rules in mind, we can also assess the red card to Alfredo Morelos which Collum called correctly.

While his flailing arm wasn't exactly deadly, it was clearly deliberate and falls under the category of violent conduct. 

Simply put, any contact to an opponent's head or face with a hand or arm that's deliberate, when not challenging for the ball, is always going to result in a red card if the referee gets a clear view.