Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers was incensed at Ross County’s Andrew Davies after his challenge on midfielder Scott Brown earned him a straight red card in Saturday’s 3-0 win at Parkhead, reports the Daily Mail.
Davies sunk his studs into the thigh of Brown minutes before half-time and was sent off as a result. The Celtic midfielder carried on after the bad tackle and was able to play the remainder of the game, but Rodgers wasn’t pleased with his treatment by Ross County.
He said:
“There is no doubt the challenge on Scott today was disgraceful. We’ve seen a lot of challenges with question marks over them, but that was one of the worst I’ve seen since I’ve been up here.
“There’s no intent to play the ball. It was a really dangerous challenge – and only someone of Scott’s toughness and robustness could get up and play on.”
Rodgers also felt Ross County’s players were deliberately targeting the combative midfielder and ‘trying to make a name for themselves’. The Celtic manager was proud of the Scottish international’s response and paid tribute to his ‘authority’ and ‘aggression’.
“He’s aggressive, of course, but he’s fair and he’s honest. He’s a guy that plays with an authority and an aggression. But it’s always controlled because we want to have 11 players on the pitch.
“There are one or two maybe trying to make a name for themselves by trying to put those sort of tackles in. But Scott’s unique – he’s absolutely brilliant for us. He eventually got up, got on with the game and controlled it for us.”
Brown is known for his own tough tackles and robust treatment of opponents, but Davies’ thigh-high challenge was dangerous. The Ross County skipper was fortunate to not have cause a serious injury. County co-manager Stuart Kettlewell revealed the centre-back did apologise after the game and to his teammates.