Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has accused referee Claude Colunbo of man-handling him and is considering asking UEFA to view the flash-point which saw the Northern Irishman banished to the Parkhead stands near the end of the Scottish champions 1-0 UEFA Cup win over Celta Vigo.
A litany of dubious decisions by the French official had enraged an animated O'Neill and his frustration finally boiled over three minutes from the end, his angry tirade at the officials resulting in him being sent to the stand. O'Neill is now certain to be banned from the touchline for at least the return leg.
However, O'Neill reckons the official was merely making a name for himself: "It was inappropriate (the referee's man-handling) without a doubt. I don't know whether we would have any chance of doing anything about it (with UEFA). I would probably say no chance, but I certainly want to send some video evidence of that particular incident and of the game itself. The referee should also have the pleasure of having to look at that before he puts his own official stamp on the game. He's not doing the second game is he?"
O'Neill also claimed that, unlike his dismissal in Turin against Juventus last season, he was inside the technical area: "I was out of the technical area when the referee awarded Juventus a penalty which they converted to win 3-2, but tonight I did not stand out of the technical area. In fact, he came to ask the linesman if he was complaining about me and he shrugged his shoulders to say no, but the referee went ahead with it."
Despite the incident, the Celtic boss did not want it to overshadow what he felt was a great performance by his side. He continued: "The referee was very poor but that's not been the issue. It's about the team, and they were terrific." Henrik Larsson's 52nd minute goal gave the Scottish champions their deserved first leg advantage, after they had endured a frustrating first half of missed chances.
Meanwhile, Stilian Petrov's agent today revealed he is ready to revive contract negotiations with Celtic as soon as O'Neill gets in touch. The 22-year-old still has over two years remaining on his current deal, but talks broke down after both parties failed to reach an agreement over new terms. The Bulgarian international captain then upset O'Neill when he said he would not sign the new contract and he would be forced to leave for better money. But Petrov has since got back in the good books and has shown how influential he is to the club during Celtic's UEFA Cup run and return to the top of the Scottish Premier League.
Filed by James Boylan.
