SNAP! Red card beats 4 of Hearts; Flushed out - that is official: Rangers 3 Hearts 0.

If Glasgow referee Gerry Evans had dropped his trousers and stuck a red nose on his face the four-ring circus would have been complete.

The referee, sticking to the letter of the law rather than using a wee bit of common-sense - and with considerable help from his standside linesman - brought the game to the brink of being abandoned.

With Rangers leading by a first-half goal from Gordon Durie, his first of the season, the match official sent off four Hearts players in an astonishing burst of authority which had the crowd of 47,240 in total turmoil.

Pasquale Bruno, booked for a soft challenge on Brian Laudrup in the first half, was the first to go a minute after the interval for a tackle on Durie.

Right-back David Weir followed in 61 minutes for apparently using his elbow to stop a Durie run down the left side of the field.

The domino effect on Hearts and the match was catastrophic.

Two minutes later midfielder Neil Pointon was sent off after the linesman had indicated to his referee that there had been some flowery dissent.

Three minutes later - and off went left-back Paul Ritchie again after discussion between the flag-man and referee and again seemingly for words which were not of encouragement.

By this time even the Rangers skipper Richard Gough was pleading the case for both players to remain on the field.

And manager Walter Smith had raced from the stand to demand concentration from his players.

When the furore had cleared Hearts found themselves with six outfield players, two goals down, as briliant Gazza had scored a quite brilliant goal a minute after Bruno had said arrevederdici, and facing total and utter humiliation.

Rangers now looked an embarrassed lot, knowing victory was theirs and knowing the openings were there to score a barrel-load.

Sure they went through the pretence of pushing forward, mainly through the slick precise play of Paul Gascoigne, but the appetite for further punishment had gone.

When Ally McCoist, who had come off the bench, scored with 10 minutes to go he sought no congratulations from his bemused team-mates.

He looked indeed almost shame-faced. It was one of the most bizarre games I've ever seen and leaves Hearts to face Celtic at Tynecastle tomorrow in the quarter finals of the Coca- Cola League Cup, live on TV, without Bruno, Weir, Pointon and Ritchie who are all automatically suspended for one game. There will, of course, be a top- level inquiry by the SFA Disciplinary Committee, who will seek the comments of the referee, linesmen and the Referee Supervisor of the day.

Hearts indeed face further penalties. Hearts chairman Chris Robinson and manager Jim Jefferies, perhaps wisely, refused to be interviewed by any section of the media at the end of the game, and banned their stunned players from making any kind of comment.

Their fury was obvious. Rangers manager Walter Smith kept it brief: "Our first-half play was up on our performance against Grasshoppers in midweek. The second half was a farcical situation you don't see very often. That's all I've got to say."

Almost lost in the howling and wailing of the whole bizarre affair were the victory goals from Durie, Paul Gascoigne and Ally McCoist.

Durie's strike in 39 minutes was a powerful left-foot shot from close range after Stuart McCall had taken a short corner from Brian Laudrup on the left and pushed it in front of the Scotland striker.

Gascoigne's goal - as always - was a wee bit special. He cruised into the Hearts penalty area, swerved away from the tackle of Dave McPherson, pulled keeper Giles Rousset from his goal-line and from an acute angle on the left, whipped the ball high into the net with his right foot.

McCoist's 239th league goal for Rangers was a low right-footer from inside the box, with the remnants of the Hearts squad praying for the full-time whistle.

I should add that John Robertson and Stefano Salvatori of Hearts and Rangers midfielder Derek McInnes were shown the yellow card.

The stats make it all sound like a re-run of the Alamo.

Frankly I've seen more physical damage done at a sale of ladies' hats in the House of Fraser.