Celtic challenge Brown red card

Brown and Lafferty clash at Ibrox on Sunday

Celtic have confirmed that they will appeal against the red card shown to captain Scott Brown during Sunday's 1-0 defeat by Rangers at Ibrox.

The midfielder was sent off after wrestling with Rangers forward Kyle Lafferty in the 65th minute.

Celtic's website described ref Dougie McDonald's decision as "controversial".

"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," it claimed.

It follows last week's story broken by BBC Scotland that Celtic had made representations to the Scottish Football Association, aggrieved by decisions they believe had gone against them in matches this season - including the two previous games against Rangers.

Brown's red card will add fuel to the debate, despite former referees Kenny Clark and Stuart Dougal both backing McDonald's decision.

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 Celtic website

They stated to BBC Scotland that, by thrusting his head into Lafferty's chest, Brown had been deemed to have displayed violent conduct.

The two former Grade One officials did, though, suggest that Lafferty was lucky not to have received a yellow card for his part in the tussle, a point also made on the Celtic website.

"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," it stated.

"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."

Former referees backed Conway's decision at the time, saying that Fortune had stuck his elbow into the arms of Allan McGregor as the goalkeeper went to clutch the ball.

And the latest backing for McDonald is unlikely to hold much sway among Celtic ranks feeling hard done-by again following a match against the reigning champions, this time won by a stoppage-time Maurice Edu goal.

The defeat leaves Celtic 10 points behind Rangers, who have a game in hand, in the Scottish Premier League, with Celtic boss Tony Mowbray saying that, as far as the title race is concerned, "it's fair to say it's there for Rangers to lose".

MY SPORT: DEBATE Give your reaction to Brown's sending off

Mowbray tried hard to refrain from criticising McDonald, who booked Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra and Celtic striker Marc-Antoine Fortune early in the game and then ruled out a goal by Edu for handball by his Ibrox team-mate, Kenny Miller.

However, asked if Bougherra was perhaps fortunate to escape further punishment after subsequently committing several more fouls, the former Celtic defender said: "I don't want to comment, I will get into trouble, but the referee gave himself a difficult job with early bookings.

"There was a sense early on that the game wasn't going to finish with 22 players on the field, but maybe that was his tactic, to stamp his authority on the game, but I think he gave himself a few problems.

"But there are probably one or two challenges worse than the one he got his booking for.

"There were silly things like a booking for Fortune for a handball in the first few minutes then he disallows a goal for a handball.

"Why isn't there a booking for both handballs? Is he trying to say that one was deliberate and one wasn't? If it isn't deliberate then it shouldn't be handball, so there were a few inconsistencies."

Celtic and the SFA confirmed last week that meetings have already taken place about refereeing standards, but Brown's sending-off will reignite the debate.

Mowbray denied he would have to exert a calming influence on the fiery midfielder, whom he only recently made his captain.

"I'm not there to change Scott Brown from the combative footballer he is, that's what makes him the player he is," he added. "He hasn't got a case to answer with me."

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