Ange Postecoglou says it's very 'concerning' that referee Kevin Clancy was the subject of abuse following the Old Firm derby.
The Celtic boss was reacting to the fact the experienced whistler faced heavy criticism following Saturday's 3-2 thriller at Celtic Park against Rangers. In the aftermath, while decisions were poured over by both sides of the Glasgow divide, the SFA revealed Clancy had been the subject of 'potentially criminally' messaging with chief Ian Maxwell slamming the abuse. A Police Scotland investigation was then launched.
Postecoglou believes the derby was 'riddled by mistakes' but by both teams on the pitch. The Aussie raised the point that opinions are permitted, such as his that Celtic should've had a penalty at Ibrox in January for a handball, but that its a timely reminder that the 'language used' must be taken with care.
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When asked about the subsequent abuse directed at Clancy, he said: “It’s concerning for any person, mate. We shouldn’t even be talking about it.
“We all understand we work in a public space and with that comes scrutiny, but that should begin and end within the professions we work in, not go into our personal lives. And particularly with officials because, for the most part, we have clubs or supporter bases we would like to think would go into bat for us in situations like this. But the officials are kind of left out on their own.
“I think it’s a really timely reminder to all of us about the language we use and the reasonings we use behind things. I mean last week, if you look at it, was a real derby game and it had a bit of everything, but it wasn’t a great game.
“It was a game that was riddled by mistakes from both sides. Both sides. Players and, dare I say it, managers made a lot more mistakes than the officials did on the day. So why we need to separate that, from my perspective, if anyone analysed that game and think one moment decided that, then they are not really looking at the big picture.
“From my perspective there is a decision there where everyone has opinions on it but it’s not fact-based because it’s not like it’s an offside or something you can clearly see. It’s an opinion-based thing. Everyone gives their opinion and ultimately one person has to make the decision.
“It’s all right for us to give our opinion and be really brave but when you have got to be there and make a decision, that’s when we have to have respect for the officials and allow them to do their job. Within the context of that, whatever opinions we have, I thought we should have had a penalty at Ibrox. But it doesn’t really matter, you give your opinion and you move on, and you analyse the game.
“As I said, that was a mistake-riddled derby by both teams and to isolate the officials as to the reasoning why the contest went one way or another, I think gives a false impression and adds to the unnecessary pressure on the people making decisions.”
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