Celtic lodge Brown appeal

01 March 2010 10:59

Celtic have resumed their spat with the Scottish Football Association after appealing the red card Scott Brown picked up in the 1-0 defeat by Rangers at Ibrox on Sunday.

The Hoops' captain was sent packing by referee Dougie McDonald in the 65th minute for tangling with Rangers midfielder Kyle Lafferty, who escaped unpunished. The build-up to the game was dominated by the revelation that the Parkhead outfit were unhappy with refereeing decisions which they believe had gone against them this season - including in the previous two games against Rangers - and a statement issued on the club`s official website, www.celticfc.net, will serve only to increase tensions between Celtic and the SFA.

The statement read: "It (Brown's sending off) immediately seemed to be a controversial decision to everyone in the ground, and certainly, any fair-minded person looking at the incident at the time or subsequent TV replays could see it wasn't a red card."

The statement continued: "It was a decision which had a major impact on the game and Celtic will now appeal against the red card, which saw Tony Mowbray's side down to 10 men for the last half-hour of the game.

"Certainly, the Celtic support in the Broomloan Road Stand and beyond were left mystified and angry at yet another refereeing decision in a derby game this season which has gone against the club.

"In the first derby match of this season at Ibrox back in October, Celtic were denied a blatant penalty by referee Craig Thomson, who admitted after the game that he had made a mistake.

"And in the game against Rangers at Celtic Park, referee Steve Conroy disallowed a Marc-Antoine Fortune goal, though replays showed that there was nothing wrong with the goal.

"Now, Dougie McDonald's decision is added to that list and will be the major talking point from the game."

Maurice Edu's injury-time winner took Rangers 10 points clear of Celtic at the top of the all Clydesdale Bank Premier League with a game in hand.

Source: PA