FORMER ref Des Roache reckons Celtic were denied a clear penalty in their 4-0 rout over Ross County - but insists the visitors shouldn't have been down to ten men.

Ange Postecoglou's side put County to the sword with a dominant performance at Parkhead as Giorgos Giakoumakis bagged his second hat-trick in three league games.

Daizen Maeda netted the only other goal as Celtic continued their domestic unbeaten run and held their three-point gap at the top of the table.

And while the result was unlikely to be in doubt with Celtic three goals to the good after 26 minutes - Kayne Ramsay's straight red card killed any hope of a comeback with less than half-an-hour played.

The Southampton loanee threw himself into a tackle on Tom Rogic smashing into the ball before crunching into the Australian international.

But Roache reckons it was harsh as he explained his opinion that there wasn't even a foul.

He told the Get Involved Referee! podcast: “It wasn’t a foul. He has won the ball. You cannot tell a player how hard he can challenge for a ball.

"Don’t get me wrong, he’s taken everything but for me he has won the ball and remained in control of his challenge. I don’t think that’s a red card.

"Injuries are part of a contact sport. Are we going to take it back to playground rules where you can’t hurt your mate?

“I don’t think Ramsay has gone to hurt anyone. He has gone to win the ball fairly within the laws of the game.

"I’m going to reference a famous tackle from a few seasons ago when Jozo Simunovic cleaned out Kenny Miller – probably even more so than Rogic.

“That was an absolutely fantastic tackle. You can tackle with as much gusto as you like so long as you get the ball.

“I don’t even see it as a foul, far less a red card.”

And it wasn't the only decision of Don Robertson's to go under the microscope, with Roache also claiming Celtic should've had a penalty in the first half.

Robertson waved play on when Jota's cross from the left appeared to strike Joseph Hungbo on the arm.

But Roache reckons it was a "clear penalty" as he insisted VAR would have overturned the on-field decision if it was in use.

He added: “It was a clear penalty. There was no dubiety. The only thing I can say in Don’s defence is that it looks like there were a couple of players crossing his line of sight.

“But I’m not sure about that. It was certainly a definite penalty and I think he missed that one.

“It would have been an easy VAR decision."