Tony Mowbray says Lafferty reaction was to blame for red card

TONY Mowbray has heaped scorn on the SFA appeals system following Celtic's failure to have Scott Brown's red card in last Sunday's Old Firm match rescinded.

• Scott Brown was sent off for incident with Rangers' Kyle Lafferty. He is now suspended, much to the chagrin of Celtic manager Tony Mowbray. Picture: SNS

In a withering appraisal of the procedure which saw referee Dougie McDonald uphold his decision to send Brown off at Ibrox, the Celtic manager also claimed the real villain of the piece has gone unpunished in the shape of Rangers striker Kyle Lafferty.

Mowbray suggested Lafferty was guilty of embellishing his reaction during the off-the-ball clash with Brown which saw the Celtic captain shown a straight red card midway through the second half of the match Rangers won 1-0 to stretch their lead at the top of the SPL to ten points.

He also claimed Lafferty, who received no sanction from the referee, had placed Brown "in a headlock" and thrown him to the floor.

Mowbray believes the SFA appeals process, which requires the match referee concerned to agree to his decision being re-assessed by an independent review panel, is flawed. He would like to see the appeal system being taken out of the referee's hands, as it is in England where claims of wrongful dismissal go directly to an independent FA regulatory commission which does not allow submissions from either the match officials or clubs involved in an incident.

"People talk about an appeal, but did we have an appeal?" asked a bewildered Mowbray. "Who was the appeal to? My frustration is that the same referee who made the decision on the day has had another look at it and the matter is finished.

"It doesn't seem much of an appeal. If you appeal something, then you want to do so to an independent body. But that is not the case.

"I have watched the incident again and I can't see a sending off. Even if you think I have a level of bias because I work for Celtic, I still can't see a sending off. As a guy who looks at things honestly, I can't see what Scott has done.

"People have said to me that it might be a headbutt, but is there a headbutt? The crime of feigning a potential headbutt might be more of a crime than what Scott Brown did. If you honestly believe Scott threw his head towards him (Lafferty) and that his headbutt was a violent act, then fine. I have watched it and I just can't see it. Scott has been flung around (by Lafferty). He was put in a headlock and thrown to the floor.

"My disappointment is that the referee has had a look at it again and he thinks he was right. I'm sure you can look at the statistics and see how many appeals have been successful. How many times have the refs decided they got it wrong?

"I didn't know the appeals process in Scotland before we went into this. I thought we would appeal, someone would have a look at it and think 'yeah, maybe the referee got that one wrong', without going over the top of the individual and wagging a finger at him.

"A club has to pay 1000 to make an appeal. If you think there are grounds to spend 1000, you do. You don't want to throw money away. You appeal because there is something to look at. If it gets thrown out by an independent panel then you say 'fine' and move on. It just seems harsh to me that the guy who makes the original decision is then asked to make another decision. My own personal view is that the procedure is not correct at the moment.

"I only want a procedure that works and gets us to the right decision. We all know Scott is a hot-headed boy who has done things in the past. But I can't sit here and say he was irresponsible last Sunday."

As Celtic's currently fractious relationship with the SFA shows no signs of easing, Mowbray also labelled the outcome of their appeal as "political" in the wake of the controversy over decisions going against the Parkhead club in the previous two Old Firm fixtures this season.

"Maybe another decision in a massive Old Firm game not to go Celtic's way would be just a little bit too much," he said.

"If it had been upheld, it would have been proven to be a wrong decision, I think. So maybe the political decision was taken that maybe the right decision had been made.

"Was there extra pressure on the referee last Sunday? All he has to do is watch the game, see the decisions, make the decisions and nobody is going to question him. But when you watch it back, it is wrong.

"In a massive game the whole world is watching, and given what happened in the previous two Old Firm matches, why make such a big decision if you weren't sure of it? If you look back at it, he (McDonald) has got to look through two or maybe three bodies to actually see the incident.

"I would have thought when he watched it again that he almost had an out, to say 'listen I saw the boy go down but there were two or three people in my way and having seen it again, I don't think it was a red card'. In my mind, you can't see something that didn't happen. So why come rushing over with your red card out? If you have a doubt, stand there with the players for two minutes, lecture them and show the world you are in charge of the situation."

Mowbray will be without the suspended Brown tomorrow when Celtic travel to face a Falkirk side against whom they have already dropped four points in two previous meetings this season. Despite last week's massive setback at Ibrox, however, Mowbray remains defiantly positive about his prospects of ultimate success as Celtic manager.

"I think I signed a four-year deal," he said, "and I am here to build a team that can be successful for a long, long period. I want to play expansive football at this club and the people who brought me here bought into that. At times, it can be like a rollercoaster.

"This club has to win something every season, it has always been that way. But there are some seasons when it wins everything, some when it wins something and some when it wins nothing. If you don't win anything, do you throw everything out and start again?

"The train keeps rolling until you get better opportunities or you are told it is time for a change. I don't make those decisions. But, for me, if you believe in what you are doing, you keep going."

Meanwhile, Falkirk striker Enoch Showunmi has recalled how he previously tasted victory over Celtic's Robbie Keane – and has the belief he can do so again on Sunday.

Showunmi made his international debut for Nigeria against the Republic of Ireland in 2004 and will not be overawed when facing the on-loan Tottenham striker again.

Bottom club Falkirk have drawn both SPL games against Celtic this season and dismantled Aberdeen 3-1 in their last home match.

"I played against Robbie Keane for Nigeria against Ireland a few years ago," Showunmi said.

"Nigeria won 3-0 so the same again would be good.

"He is a brilliant player and played in the Premier League for x amount of years and scored a lot of goals.

"He is a quality player but it's 11 against 11 and one man can't win a game, so we'll be confident in our own ability and what we can do in the game."

Celtic could go into the match 13 points behind Rangers but Showunmi is experienced enough to know his team must focus on their own game and not the SPL title race.

"There is a lot of pressure on Celtic," said the 27-year-old. "They lost the Old Firm game last Sunday so they will be a wounded animal and will want to put that right and try and get closer to Rangers."

• Were the SFA correct to reject Celtic's appeal over Scott Brown's red card?