Celtic football club have issued a statement calling for more transparent refereeing decisions, following the failure of the Scottish FA to punish Alfredo Morelos for three separate incidents during the recent Old Firm derby, which Rangers won 1-0.
The 22-year-old was in the thick of it in his side's victory, appearing to kick Celtic captain Scott Brown in the groin as well as standing on Anthony Ralston:
Morelos:
-Kicks brown in the goolies
-Stands studs down on Ralston's back
-Grabs Christie in the gooliesCommited 4 fouls in open play aswell.
Beaton done his hardest to not book him and succeeded. Hunbelievable. pic.twitter.com/PAE3XI72EF
— Paul B ? (@p_bov1) December 29, 2018
The club are 'surprised' that no retroactive action was taken by the Scottish FA, and have revealed that they have requested a meeting with Scottish FA Chief Executive, Ian Maxwell, and the Association's Head of Refereeing:
Celtic Football Club is surprised that there will be no disciplinary action taken by the Scottish FA regarding the incidents during the match on December 29, which have been widely addressed in the media.
It is reported that no action was taken because the match referee saw all of the incidents in question.
Given that the referee took no action at the time, this tends to suggest that such conduct, which in one instance led to a Celtic player, Anthony Ralston, being injured, is acceptable in Scottish football. That cannot be right.
On the day, Celtic did not play well enough to win the match, something we accept. However, this issue goes beyond the result of the match.
Celtic is not the only club this season to raise concerns regarding the standard of officiating at matches in Scotland, concerns which have also been shared by many commentators on the game.
In order to fully understand what is going on, Celtic, our supporters, Scottish clubs and the general Scottish football public need transparency in these matters, and we therefore call on the Scottish FA to allow the referee, John Beaton, to explain these decisions publicly as well as any match officials involved in other similar circumstances.
In the meantime, we have requested a meeting with Scottish FA Chief Executive, Ian Maxwell, and the Association's Head of Refereeing.
