Straight talking Scott Brown is in no mood to forgive and forget referee Dougie McDonald.
Brown was red carded by McDonald at Ibrox last month and will come face to face with the whistler when he returns to captain Celtic against Kilmarnock today.
Unlike the Wayne Bridge/John Terry incident there will be no avoiding the handshake before the kick-off but Brown won’t be letting the events at Ibrox slip into the past.
Asked about McDonald’s performance at Ibrox ahead of today’s ‘reunion’ Brown said: “Hopefully he’ll do his job better this time than he did the last time. Is this a test of my patience? I think so.”
Most people who viewed the incident between Brown and Kyle Lafferty felt that both players were equally guilty and that the incident was worth a yellow card each.
Dougie McDonald isn’t most people.
The man who allowed Madjid Bougherra license to kick Robbie Keane throughtout the match despite issuing an early yellow card had tunnel vision in the Brown incident as he raced to flash a red card at the Celtic midfielder.
Within three hours of the game ending Celtic had put in an appeal against the red card with McDonald predicatably rejecting the appeal.
The referee’s attitude to the incident and appeal clearly bothers Brown who added: “If the referee had seen it properly, hadn’t made his mind up early doors, actually spoken to his linesman, he could have got the decision right.
“But as it happens, he didn’t even want to review it, he didn’t even want to look at the evidence.
“I’m just a little bit disappointed he can’t look at video evidence and actually know I haven’t full-out grabbed Lafferty and head-butted him as he says I have.
“I think it’s embarrassing that the referee is left to review his own decision.
“It doesn’t matter what happens – it’s coming back to him anyway. He’s not going to change his mind and show he’s wrong.”
Despite the leaks flowing out of the SFA they have yet to charge Celtic for the website statement that openly criticised McDonald’s performance at Ibrox.
Similarly Aiden McGeady hasn’t been asked to explain why he said that he felt McDonald’s performance at Ibrox wasn’t impartial.
The silence of the SFA suggests that they are on unsteady ground and are scared to take Celtic up on their criticisms of McDonald that day.
As he prepares for today’s match McDonald will no doubt be enjoying the focus and attention that he will come under at Celtic Park.
Refereeing in the same dramatic manner as his mentor Hugh Dallas anything is possible in this afternoon’s match from the man that has refereed three Rangers games in the last five weeks and been criticised by Dundee United’s Peter Houston over honest mistakes that presented Rangers with two penalties after going a goal behind to Dundee United.
Should McDonald continue his recent poor performances he can expect further criticism from Celtic.
Whether the SFA have the courage to challenge the club’s comments and back their official remains to be seen.
Joe,
I'l be at the game today….and McDonald will get pelters from me..
mistakes I can handle…cheating is something else….
McDonald is dishonest in his dealings with clubs playing against Rangers….the facts are the facts….
No Paranoia CSC.