SCOTT BROWN, the Celtic captain, is confident he will not be cited by the Scottish Football Association's compliance officer for the tackle that sparked an on-field melee between his side and Dundee United in Sunday's William Hill Scottish Cup quarter-final tie at Tannadice.
Brown was not penalised by referee Craig Thomson for the robust challenge on United's Nadir Ciftci that led to a frenzied 30 second-spell that saw Ciftci retaliate by kicking Brown on the head, before Virgil van Dijk was sent off for a collision with Calum Butcher. In the confusion that followed, Thomson, after consulting with his assistant Graham Chambers, sent off Paul Paton by mistake. United confirmed yesterday they would appeal that decision, with Celtic doing similarly for the van Dijk challenge. If successful, both would be free to play in Sunday's League Cup final between the sides at Hampden.
Brown also expects to feature in that match. Tony McGlennan, the compliance officer, has until 3pm today to consider any evidence and then issue retrospective charges, but Brown is confident that there is no reason for him to be punished after the event given the referee took no action at the time.
"I think it was a great tackle," said Brown, still bearing the marks of Ciftci's boot to the face. "The referee was two yards away and he saw that I won the ball. He was fine with it and so was the linesman. You could see quite clearly on the telly that I won the ball. I'm not in the slightest [bit worried about being possibly cited and missing the final]. The referee had a clear view of my tackle and so did the linesman.
"At the end of the day, it's a man's sport. People need to man up a bit. People moan about the tackles, but if the ball is there to be won, go and win it, as long as it's not dangerous and you are not flying two-footed into somebody."
Another player who may find himself in McGlennan's report is Aidan Connolly. The Dundee United forward won a penalty, converted by Ciftci, after tumbling in the box, with Celtic's Nir Bitton and Anthony Stokes in close proximity. Brown does not believe there was much contact.
"That was a blatant dive," he added. "I was close by. I saw Anthony and Nir, I think as well. The two of them went in, Anthony's put his leg in and pulled it away. You can see he's pulled his leg away before the lad's gone down. It was a dive.
"You don't want to see people cheating, whether it helps you or not. We've had a player ourselves who did it [Derk Boerrigter] against St Johnstone, and he got a two-match ban. I think it was quite right. That's not nice, it's not part of the game. Have I ever dived? There's always been a bit of contact."
Brown felt the introduction of in-play video evidence would help the match officials ensure they get the major decisions correct.
"I do think it should be introduced. I think [last Sunday] would've been ideal for it. They stop the game for four or five minutes, slow the play down and eventually make the decision. I knew it was the wrong decision at the time when Paton got sent off. But if they'd watched that back we would've been able to clearly see who it was.
"People say it would disrupt the flow of the game but it was stopped anyway for four minutes. So it already did. It wouldn't stop the game every two minutes. But big decisions like that, I think we definitely need the video evidence for it."
Brown was also scathing of the Tannadice pitch and felt the new, relaid turf at Hampden would be more conducive to an attractive match. "We tried passing the ball at the start and had bits of possession but we cut it short because we knew it wasn't going to be that kind of game. It's hard. People were watching that game on Sky and they see the pitch dug up. You are trying to pass the ball 10-15 yards and it is bobbling here, there and everywhere. If you want to watch an attractive game of football, that's not really what you want to see.
"Astroturf is not the way forward either. Grass is ideal and when it's wet it's always great to play on. Astroturf, like at Kilmarnock, is totally different to what we are used to and to what we train on every day as well. Even the latest artificial surfaces are miles behind grass. They'll get there by the time I'm 45.
"Hampden will be fine. It's a new pitch, so hopefully it will be nice and flat and well watered for the game. There should be a good atmosphere as well."
Brown could become only the third ever Celtic captain to lift a domestic treble after Billy McNeill and Tom Boyd but waved away talk of any comparison, especially at this premature stage.
"No, I am not getting compared to Billy McNeill or Tom Boyd. They are proper legends at this club. They are what Celtic's history is all about. We are here to try and get as close to those guys as possible but I don't think anyone will.
We just need to try and get through the next round of the Scottish Cup before we get anywhere near that. We are still fighting in the league too, six points clear 11 games to go. It's going to be a long season for us."
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