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Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou says abuse directed at referee Kevin Clancy after the Old Firm derby is “concerning”.
Clancy received threatening phone calls and emails, which police are looking into, following a 3-2 win for Celtic.
The Scottish Football Association said the official was targeted after his contact details were published online.
“It’s a really timely reminder to all of us about the language we use and the reasonings we use behind things,” said Postecoglou.
“We all understand we work in a public space and with that comes scrutiny, but that should begin and end within the professions we work in, not go into our personal lives.
“And particularly with officials because, for the most part, we have clubs or supporter bases we would like to think would go into bat for us in situations like this. But the officials are kind of left out on their own.
“It’s concerning for any person. We shouldn’t even be talking about it.”
The decision to disallow an Alfredo Morelos goal at 0-0 brought criticism from Rangers boss Michael Beale and the Ibrox club were “astonished” by a response from the SFA backing the officials over the incident.
Beale also condemned the abuse Clancy received, while Postecoglou argued that it is wrong to single out the referee and his colleagues in a game “riddled with mistakes”.
“It was a real derby game and it had a bit of everything, but it wasn’t a great game,” said the Australian.
“Players and, dare I say it, managers made a lot more mistakes than the officials did on the day.
“If anyone analysed that game and thinks one moment decided that, then they are not really looking at the big picture.
“From my perspective there is a decision there where everyone has opinions on it but it’s not fact-based because it’s not like it’s an offside or something you can clearly see. It’s an opinion-based thing. Everyone gives their opinion and ultimately one person has to make the decision.
“It’s all right for us to give our opinion and be really brave but when you have got to be there and make a decision, that’s when we have to have respect for the officials and allow them to do their job.”
