CELTIC striker Leigh Griffiths today attempted to defuse the controversy which has erupted over his comments about referee Craig Thomson in the wake of the Ladbrokes Premiership game against Aberdeen.

Griffiths stated on Saturday that Aberdeen left back Andrew Considine had deserved to be ordered off for the first half penalty box challenge on him at Pittodrie.

And he claimed match official Thomson would have red carded a Celtic player if an Aberdeen player had been fouled in the same circumstances.

“If it’s up at the other end I’m positive, I’d put my mortgage on it, that Craig sends one of our players off," he said.

“It’s what happens. If that’s up at the other end, the Aberdeen players would have surrounded him and you can guarantee he sends him off. That’s 100 per cent."

The Scotland internationalist, who is facing SFA disciplinary action over his comments, today denied accusing the referee of anti-Celtic bias.

Speaking to the official Celtic website, he said: “I never said the referee was biased or not good at his job at all.

"I’ve got a good relationship with Craig and I have total respect for him as a referee and a man. I spoke to Craig during the game and he told me the way he saw it.

“It’s only my opinion and it might not have come across, but all I meant was with a home team, the atmosphere, the crowd and their players going in on him, a referee can be put in a very difficult position to make a decision to show a red card.

“That is not a criticism of Craig and there is no way I would question Craig in that way at all.”

Griffiths netted the penalty which Thomson awarded to take his personal tally for the 2015/16 season to nine - but he was unable to prevent his side crashing to a 2-1 defeat to opponents who were reduced to ten men when Jonny Hayes was sent off.

The former Hibs and Wolves centre forward, who is hoping his side can get back to winning ways in their opening Europa League group game against Ajax in Amsterdam on Thursday, admitted Celtic should have picked up all three points.

“Any time a team goes down to 10 men against us we’re confident of picking up the three points, so the goal we conceded for their winner was very disappointing,” he told the official Celtic website. “The ball’s come a long way and we should have cleared it.

“When we got the penalty and scored it, if they’d gone a man down as well as being 1-0 down, it would have given them a mountain to climb.

“Aberdeen got confidence from their penalty but after the sending off we really should have capitalised on that and got all three points.

“We kept pressing for that second goal which obviously never came and it was just a lapse in concentration that allowed them to score from the free-kick.

“The boys are disappointed but we were back in the next day for a recovery session and we’re ready to go again on Thursday.”