Hughes watched the defeat to Celtic from the stand

Falkirk boss John Hughes has accused referee Iain Brines of unfair treatment after Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Celtic.

Stephen McManus appeared to use an arm when giving Celtic the lead and Hughes, who is serving a touchline ban, also clashed with Brines at half-time.

"Iain Brines saw fit to pull me into his office to and tell me he's going to report me for being in the dressing-room at half-time," said Hughes.

"There's no law against it, he got it wrong. I've not heard an apology."

Hughes has been charged with misconduct three times in the last three years, resulting in his current ban, and he feels he is being victimised.

"It's really cut me to the bone," the head coach told BBC Sport.

"I've spoken to a lot of people within the game and I feel it's personal.

"I'm the first to appreciate that they've got a very, very difficult job. I understand that.

"Although I'm doing a ban, I can still have the choice to go out and stand in the dugout. I would get punished for it later on, but that's got absolutely nothing to do with Iain Brines.

"He's there to referee the match, so why did he see fit to pull me in his office to try and report me to the beaks for being in a place where I should have been? I was so embarrassed for him.

"Having spoken to a lot of good people in the game that I respect, they feel that I have to make stand."

Falkirk striker Michael Higdon has also criticised the referee's decision to award the McManus goal.

It was the latest in a string of high-profile incidents involving disputed refereeing decisions that have dogged the opening weeks of the SPL season.

"Obviously the referees do bottle it because they keep making the same mistakes all the time," said Higdon.

"I was marking McManus at the corner and it was just a plain handball. It was obvious. I could have knocked the ref out to be honest.

MY SPORT: DEBATE What do Falkirk fans think about Hughes' and Higdon's comments?

"There wasn't a lot in the game at that point and we'd had chances, but they seem to get luck like that all the time.

"I was surprised that I didn't get booked to be honest because I kept having a go at him all the time. He didn't book me when I kicked the ball away, so that just shows how inconsistent that referee is."

Brines' decision to award the McManus goal has once again brought the spotlight on to Scotland's officials.

Dundee United, Hearts and St Mirren have been unhappy with penalty decisions in matches against the Old Firm while Rangers claim a disallowed goal in the 1-1 draw at Pittodrie on Saturday should have stood.

And former Fifa and Scottish Premier League referee Kenny Clark told newspapers over the weekend that referees' chief Don McVicar was putting too much pressure on officials and that it had damaged morale.