Brown clashed with Kyle Lafferty in Celtic's 1-0 defeat at Ibrox

Scott Brown claims that Scotland team-mates backed his belief that he had been harshly sent off for Celtic against Rangers last weekend.

Celtic failed in an attempt to have the red card overturned and the decision has left the midfielder mystified.

"The decision is really disappointing," Brown, who will now miss three matches, told Celtic's official website.

"I know our view was shared by many others and players that I've spoken to with the Scotland squad this week."

Celtic captain Brown was sent off for violent conduct by referee Dougie McDonald after tangling with Rangers' Kyle Lafferty.

Following the club's appeal, McDonald stood by his decision after looking at the incident again on video.

Scott's a big boy and he can take the consequences Rangers midfielder Kevin Thomson

Manager Tony Mowbray claims he is "bewildered" by the Scottish Football Association's appeals procedure, which allows the referee to act as judge and jury.

Brown, who scored the winner for Scotland in the 1-0 friendly win over the Czech Republic at Hampden on Wednesday, will now miss Sunday's trip to Falkirk in the Scottish Premier League.

He has also incurred a two-match fixed suspension from 14 March for reaching the disciplinary threshold of 18 points and it still rankles.

"We challenged the original red card because we thought it was wrong and I still think that is the case," said Brown.

"Now that the referee has had a chance to see the video footage of the whole incident, I can't understand why he still feels that I deserved a red card.

"What happened in the incident is clear for everyone to see and decide for themselves.

"I've been lucky to come through recent injury problems and get back in the team, to have a three-match suspension in the same week as scoring for my country is a real blow.

"I'll just have to deal with missing three games, however harsh I might think that is."

However, friend and former Hibernian team-mate Kevin Thomson refused to hand out sympathy to Brown.

MY SPORT: DEBATE Give your reaction to Brown's comments

"It's a situation that doesn't really involve me to be honest," said the Rangers and Scotland midfielder.

"Scott's a big boy and he can take the consequences. You never want to see an opposition player getting sent off or suspended, but he is in that situation."

Indeed, Celtic defender Darren O'Dea does not think there is any bias against his club from officials.

"I don't believe for a second that referees go out to influence games for either team," he said.

"But they are making mistakes and everyone is making mistakes and it's not just in Scotland.

"I don't know what they need to do, but I think they need help. They are not trying to make mistakes. There's no agenda there."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version