Celtic have written to the SFA after refereeing incident in Inverness defeat
Monday 20 April 2015 18:50, UK
Celtic have written to the Scottish Football Association demanding answers after their controversial defeat in Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final.
Inverness won 3-2, but that was after referee Steven McLean and his officials missed a handball by Josh Meekings a yard off his own goal line, denying Leigh Griffiths a goal, with Celtic already 1-0 ahead.
Celtic manager Ronny Deila and his Inverness counterpart John Hughes have both admitted the incident cost the Parkhead side victory.
Striker Griffiths also claimed that while arguing with McLean on the pitch, the referee said he had been informed by additional assistant referee Alan Muir - who was stationed just five yards away from the incident - that the ball had struck Meekings' face.
Now Celtic have asked for an official explanation after their supporters reacted with outrage to the decision.
A statement on the club's official website, which was posted on Monday afternoon, read: "With the club being inundated today, Celtic can confirm that it has written to the SFA regarding yesterday's match and in particular the incident involving Leigh Griffiths and Josh Meekings.
"First and foremost we absolutely congratulate Inverness Caledonian Thistle on reaching the Scottish Cup final. They are a fantastic club and reaching the final is a great achievement.
'Obvious'
"However, given the level of reaction from our supporters and across football, we are duty bound to seek an understanding of what actually happened.
"We have not been given any other specific explanation so far and this is simply to understand the circumstances of what went on and why such an obvious error was made."
