Ange Postecoglou has revealed that he told his Celtic players to involve going in to tackles towards the end of Saturday’s Scottish Cup win over Alloa Athletic.Â
It is an incredible admission and condemnation of the Scottish game with the SFA having to apply retrospective punishment with a charge for Mouhamed Niang’s brutal challenge on Yosuke Guchi.Â
Callum McGregor and Liel Abada left the match due to injury with Stephen Welsh and Jota also on the receiving end of challenges that have no place in the professional game.Â
Until yesterday Postecoglou went out of his way to avoid criticising match officials but Saturday’s toll has forced the hand of the Celtic boss.Â
?? ‘I told some of the lads towards the end to just not bother going into tackles and to just look after themselves…’
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou says his side were not getting proper protection from the referee and feared further injuries against Alloa Athletic ?? pic.twitter.com/bddEfFEbBN
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) January 25, 2022
I will be honest, I told some of the lads towards the end of the game to just not to bother going into tackles and just look after themselves because I didn’t want any more injuries.Â
I just didn’t feel there was control of that environment. Sometimes players are just reckless but that doesn’t mean it is excusable.Â
We had a player who had a serious injury, there’s a couple of others who were lucky to escape from that and that is why I was disappointed with the way the night panned out.Â
Postecoglou is left to pick up the pieces with Callum McGregor and Guchi on the injured list with Kyogo Furuhashi, Tom Rogic, David Turnbull and Daizen Maeda all unavailable.Â
Matt Riley looks like he could straight into the side to face Hearts tomorrow night with the nightmare scenario being further injuries picked up tomorrow. Â
Yes. That is Scottish Foodbaw: populated by neds, crooks, tax dodgers, hammer throwers and chanty wrasslers, and sanctioned by the authorities and the SMSM, where you don’t get a chance to comment by the national broadcaster unless you played for a now defunct club that pretends to be the same club.
Makes you proud does it not?
No wonder we’re the laughing stock of the football world.
Exactly Tony B.
What a pathetic group of incompetents and downright cheats we have in the SFA and their referees. They are all cowards as well as they are frightened of the thugs associated with Sevco, the tribute act.
It is no wonder Scottish Football commands no real respect in other countries. Scotland is a backwater with backward thinking people living in previous centuries.
Note to all Celtic supporters all clubs should petition the SFA and SPfLto make the game fairer and protect the players from hatchet men .it’s not beyond 40 to50thousand signatures which would put the cat among the pigeons.Makea a lot of people sit up .WE Are the strongest team to do this!,