Celtic boss Ronny Deila angry after 1-1 draw at Dundee United

Ronny Deila accused Aidan Connolly of diving in Celtic's tempestuous 1-1 Scottish Cup quarter-final draw with Dundee United at Tannadice which saw three orderings off and two penalties.

Referee Craig Thomson sent off Virgil van Dijk and United midfielder Paul Paton after 10 minutes, but it appeared to be a case of mistaken identity with regards to the home player, as he appeared to have played no part in the incident ot its aftermath. 

United striker Nadir Ciftci scored with a penalty in first-half stoppage time after Connolly went down under pressure from Anthony Stokes.

Regarding the penalty, Deila said: "It is a dive and hopefully it will be the same rules for everybody. We are the only team this season in the league to have a suspension for diving, Derk Boerrigter.

"I said at the time that it was no problem because that is the line that will be taken by everyone. I don't think anybody has had it since then.

"I accept that people make mistakes. But if we have a rule where people look at things afterwards then it has to be the other way around also.

"I don't see anybody else getting suspensions. I can't understand that we are the worst at this in the league and nobody else is doing anything. People make mistakes - no problem. But it make it right afterwards."

In respect of the red card shown to Van Dijk, Deila added: "I have looked at some pictures in the dressing room but it is hard to see what happened.

"Virgil just said there was a tackle and suddenly somebody was holding his legs. There was some kicking of each other to get off each other. It was nothing."

United boss Jackie McNamara dismissed Deila's accusation of a Connolly dive, saying: "I don't think he dived. I think he caught him by his thigh. Outside the box it is a free-kick, yes, inside the box it might be soft but it is a penalty.

As to Paton's card, it is understood that United will be appealing that decision; McNamara said: "Paul feels a bit hard done for being sent off for nothing. He wasn't involved in the incident. I think the referee should have dealt with the original challenge.

"I thought it was a bad challenge which sparked the whole thing off and it went unnoticed. I thought it was a two-footed challenge off the deck, it was a bad one but if didn't get dealt with properly."

The replay will be held on Wednesday March 18, three days after the League Cup final between the two sides.