Neil McCann clamps madcap Rangers 'took a dive' claim as John Hartson theory is instantly shut down

The Wolves loanee was involved in a bizarre moment in the box during the closing stages of the clash with Hearts.

Neil McCann has leapt to the defence of Fabio Silva after Celtic hero John Hartson claimed the Rangers forward "took a dive" in the Scottish Cup semi-final.

With the Light Blues holding a two-goal lead against Hearts, Cyriel Dessers passed up his chance to land a hat-trick by cutting the ball back to the Portuguese forward - with the Wolves loanee left with an open goal. But in a bizarre moment, Silva collapsed in the box under no pressure from the Hearts' defence - leaving the Rangers' star red-faced and pundits baffled over what went wrong at the national stadium.

Rangers' hero McCann was left struggling to wrap his head around the moment days later as he told Go Radio: "I have got no idea what happened. I would love his side of it, has he actually came out and said anything?" However, Hartson offered his own take on the madcap moment.

He said: "It almost looks like he ran past the ball and because it was behind him and then because he couldn't get a clear shot on goal he has just went over, but it was really strange because there was nobody near him. It wasn't as if he had a chance of getting anything because he almost tripped over his own foot or took a dive."

McCann wasn't having the diver tag as he clamped back "He is not appealing for anything. Do you know what I mean?"

Hartson went on to bring up Silva's antics during the clash with Celtic earlier this month. He said: "I know, but it's embarrassing. Even his own players have to have a word with him. After the Celtic game it was banging on the floor and everything. It's ridiculous. Everyone in the ground is thinking 'what are you doing pal?' - it's embarrassing. And then he does it the following week."

However, McCann's point would see him caveat the claim over the Scottish Cup semi-final fall. Hartson rounded off: "We can't really prove that he dived at the weekend but it was a gaping goal, nobody was behind him."