Ref watch: Should Leigh Griffiths have seen red in Celtic's win at Hamilton?
Dermot Gallagher's verdict: He's the only person who will know what his intent was, whether he can get out of the way or whether he can't. When he brings his foot down, he's got to bring it down somewhere. Is he toppling over? I don't know, only he knows.
Thursday 2 April 2020 10:30, UK
Hamilton boss Brian Rice insists Leigh Griffiths should have been sent off in Celtic's 4-1 win on Sunday, while Dermot Gallagher says only Griffiths will know if clash was deliberate.
The match was goalless when the Hoops striker appeared to plant his foot into defender Sam Woods’ prone body which earned a yellow card from referee Nick Walsh.
After Marios Ogkmpoe opened the scoring for the home side, Accies were reduced to 10 men when 17-year-old defender Jamie Hamilton was dismissed for a ‘last-man’ tug on Griffiths.
Odsonne Edouard levelled from the subsequent free-kick with the league leaders eventually taking the points.
Rice, who sat in the stand serving the first of his five-game ban for breaching betting rules, said: “I don’t think there is any debate it was a red card for Leigh Griffiths.
“There is no debate. But my opinion doesn’t matter and the only person whose opinion matters is the referee and he called it the way he has seen it so we move on.
“He may look at it and say he made a mistake or he may look at it and say he got that right but in my humble opinion I don’t think there is any debate.
“A big decision by the referee changed the game," he added. "My boys fought heroically.
“At 1-0 everything we worked on was good, I felt OK and I felt it was very harsh how it ended up.
“Celtic ended up with seven attacking players of real quality. But the biggest turning point is definitely the refereeing decision. One decision led into another but it is only my opinion.”
Ref watch: 'Only Griffiths will know'
Speaking on Ref Watch, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher gave his verdict on the Griffiths incident.
"Griffiths is the only person who will know what his intent was, whether he can get out of the way or whether he can't," Gallager told Sky Sports News.
"When he brings his foot down, he's got to bring it down somewhere. Is he toppling over? I don't know, only he knows."
Gallagher also spoke about the decision to send off Hamilton, saying the referee had no choice but to dismiss the defender.
"The referee has no choice here because the minute Griffiths spins, he's got control of the ball," he added.
"Hamilton puts his arms around him and brings him down. It's a red card."
