Michael Stewart was left reeling at the end of Rangers' 1-0 victory over Hearts last night.

The former Jambos and Hibs midfielder insists referee Matthew MacDermid was 'clear as mud' as he brought the Scottish Premiership match to a conclusion.

As the visitors chased a leveller late in the game at Ibrox, with goalkeeper Craig Gordon up in the mix for a free kick, MacDermid sounded the full time whistle shortly after.

Hearts seemingly thought they'd be awarded a free kick on the edge of the Rangers box. 

But it then became clear that the referee blew for full time after passing to listen to his fellow officials in his earpiece. 

As Hearts appealed for a handball, Stewart was left livid on commentary duties for Premier Sports.

He said: “What is he doing? I don’t think anybody knows.

"To be honest, I think Dowell’s arm is down near his body, but the referee has been as clear as mud in terms of what was actually going on there.

“If it was full-time, why did he wait at least a minute or so in talking to the players, about something that was immaterial because the game was over. Blow your whistle.”

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Hearts head coach Neil Critchley said post-match: “I’ve not seen it back yet and I don't know if it was in the box or not in the box. But I think the time, three minutes, I thought it should have been longer than that.

“We had seven minutes at St Johnstone last week and I don't remember the physios coming on or anything. Three minutes - I don't know where that's come from. It should have been longer. The players gave everything. They went right to the end.

“We were nearly there. Nearly something dropped for us. We just needed that little bit of… sometimes you need a little bit of luck as well. We've probably not had that in the last couple of games.”