Brendan Rodgers has accused Steven McLean of not having an eye for the game.
Not only did the FIFA listed referee miss Ryan Bowman smash his elbow into the nose of Fabio Cardoso but with blood streaming from the damage play continued to the other end of the park.
While referees follow the ball a quick glance at Cardoso would have revealed the extent of his injury with blood all over his jersey and shorts.
McLean missed a number of elbowing incidents then decided not to speak to Bruno Alves despite watching the Sevco defender kicking out at Louis Moult when the two players were grounded in the closing minutes.
Offside decisions and penalty claims can be debated but Rodgers believes that referees have a duty to secure the health and safety of the players on the park
“It’s either officials who unfortunately don’t have an eye for the game, don’t have a feel for the real details of the game, or who are frightened to make a decision,” the Celtic boss told the Daily Record.
“The centre half (Cardoso) came off the pitch on Sunday – Christ, if he’d been shot, he wouldn’t have looked worse. It was unbelievable.
“With Sunday’s game, what you are looking at is authority. You want officials with authority.
“They may not always get decisions right but don’t just let the game go and hope the players officiate it. That was a dangerous game on Sunday.
“You are endangering players’ lives and careers with some of the challenges we saw. That’s not the first time. It’s been ongoing.
Motherwell’s Ryan Bowman???? pic.twitter.com/g2XfBxyIec
— Celtic Da (@DBestseventy2) October 24, 2017
“You need officials with authority but the game got out of control on Sunday. I can see why Pedro would have been annoyed – absolutely.
“That happens to one of your players? Then it got out of control at the end, because players – known professionals – were trying to avenge things.
“That’s a prestigious game, the League Cup semi-final on TV with kids watching, and it’s not what you want to see. There was a couple of incidents there that went unpunished.
“You maybe would’ve got away with that in the ‘80s, but certainly not now. It certainly shouldn’t have been the case.”
Bowman attracted Rodgers’ criticism earlier this year for a challenge that left stud marks on Kieran Tierney’s knee.
