Bhoys aghast as Brown red card appeal rejected
Referee Dougie McDonald upheld his own decision to show Scotland midfielder Brown a straight red card for his clash with Kyle Lafferty during Celtic’s late 1-0 defeat by Rangers on Sunday.
Brown will now miss a total of three matches through suspension, including Sunday’s Clydesdale Bank Premier League trip to Falkirk.
After a club source had revealed their frustration and concern over damaging decisions by referees in the build-up to Sunday’s game, Celtic had claimed no “fair-minded” person would agree Brown deserved to be sent off.
Now they have reacted with shock at McDonald’s decision to throw out their appeal and criticised the SFA’s procedures, which do not allow any decision to be reviewed unless the referee changes his mind on viewing television evidence.
In a statement on their official website, a Celtic spokesperson said: “We are amazed at this decision and believe it is the wrong one.
“Given the general consensus that the initial decision was incorrect and the availability of supporting video evidence, at the very least, the incident should have been referred to a separate review panel.
“Naturally, we are very disappointed that this simple opportunity was not taken.
“Clearly, it is also very disappointing that Scottish Football Association rules do not permit this decision to be appealed.”
nPORTSMOUTH manager Avram Grant has been warned as to his future conduct and fined £1,000 (€1,100), with a further £4,000 (€4,400) fine suspended until the end of the season, after he admitted a charge of improper conduct to the FA yesterday.
The incident related to his behaviour towards referee Kevin Friend during Pompey’s Barclays Premier League match against Sunderland on February 9.
Grant stormed onto the Fratton Park pitch and confronted Friend at the end of the first half of the match. He was dismissed and watched the second half from the directors’ box.
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