The St Johnstone attacker was sent off late in his side's 4-0 defeat at Ibrox after referee Chris Graham upgraded an initial yellow card following a VAR review prompted by Andrew Dallas.

But ex-FIFA official Bobby Madden reckons the challenge on Nico Raskin fell well short of serious foul play and insists the dismissal was the wrong call.

Fotheringham protested his innocence after sliding in on the Rangers midfielder in difficult conditions, with officials deciding the tackle endangered his opponent.

However, speaking on So Near, Yet So VAR, Madden said: "The contact is absolutely minimal. You need to look at the full criteria. And for me, it doesn't meet it."

Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg also came to Fotheringham's defence and believes modern football has become obsessed with freeze-frame images over the incident in real time.

He said: "If you look at the point of contact, and this is what destroys me, you'll see it on Twitter, and that still image. If it weren't a red card, everybody would be showing that picture and going, 'How's that not a red card?'

"But you don't see the context of it. This is the problem with still pictures. This is the way the game has gone now. It's bonkers."

The dismissal had little bearing on the result with Rangers already cruising to victory, but it has become one of the major talking points from the match.