FUMING STRACHAN LEFT IN THE DARK

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan claimed referee Stuart Dougal refused to explain why he sent him to the stand during the Hoops' 2-1 Bank of Scotland Premier League defeat by Hearts at Tynecastle.

Strachan was clearly unhappy that the game was stopped for treatment to Jambos midfielder Julien Brellier after he clashed with Aiden McGeady just before the interval.

Angry Gorgie coach John McGlynn approached Strachan, and Celtic coach Gary Pendrey also seemed to be involved in the altercation.

Fourth official Calum Murray tried to calm it all down before Dougal, who was only in the middle because original referee Kenny Clark pulled out with a back injury, came over and dismissed McGlynn and an incredulous Strachan.

The former Southampton and Coventry manager's mood was not improved by his team's defeat, with Roman Bednar's double eclipsing a Stilian Petrov effort.

Strachan said: "The decision was a bit strange. It was basically nothing but there you go, you can spot the red hair in a melee.

"I was told by the referee at half-time that I would be told why I was sent to the stand.

"I've got good back-up in the way I asked, the cameras captured me asking in a composed and respectful manner.

"They heard him say, 'yes, I will speak to Mr Strachan' and then after the game he said, 'no, I won't speak to Mr Strachan'.

"I was upset. First, (Hearts defender) Ibrahim Tall was injured and I thought it was a bad one but the referee played the game on.

"Hearts played on when their man was injured until it got to the point where they had their attempt at goal.

"Then the game stopped and then we had to give them the ball back.

"The same thing happened again, the Hearts player got injured but we got the ball and the game got stopped. So I think that was very strange.

"So I said to their technical area, 'what do you want to do? Do you want to play on when a player is injured or do you want to stop the game' and their boy (McGlynn) took the hump."

Hearts head coach Valdas Ivanauskas, who was banned for two matches last season after being sent to the stand during a 1-0 defeat at Celtic Park, explained why he took a back seat during the fracas in the technical area.

He said: "I was suspended last season for the same thing so I have to be careful now.

"But it was a deserved result. We wanted to win the game and it was very important before our Champions League qualifier against AEK Athens.

"We sent out a strong message to the rest of the SPL last season but it was very important to beat the champions in our first home game."

Ivanauskas revealed that Tall, who was replaced by Robbie Neilson in the first half after being injured in a challenge with Aiden McGeady, could be out for at least a fortnight with a damaged knee.

He said: "He has a big problem, it's very serious knee ligament injury and he will be missing a couple of weeks now."

Taken from sportinglife.com