Ange Postecoglou demands Celtic player protection as Parkhead boss accuses referee Don Robertson of losing control

Ange Postecoglou has demanded refs protect players from reckless tackles.

And the Celtic boss has called on all officials to stamp out dangerous challenges which endanger stars and could damage the image of the Scottish game globally.

Postecoglou described the tackle from Alloa’s Mouhamed Niang which left his midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi on the injured list as “terrible” and hit out at an instant failure to address the issue.

Match ref Don Robertson issued only a booking, but SFA chiefs last night upgraded the offence to a red card which Alloa are set to fight.

Postecoglou confessed he told his stars to steer clear of more dangerous tackles after the Ideguchi incident and says officials must offer protection.

He said: “I think the referees role in any game is to be the protector of both sets of players and to make sure there’s an environment there that protects players from incidents like we saw.

“It wasn’t just the one that caused the injury, I thought there were quite a few challenges he could have taken better control of. For me, that’s one of the primary roles of any referee.

“I will be honest, I told some of the lads towards the end of the game to just not to bother going into tackles and just look after themselves because I didn’t want any more injuries.

“I just didn’t feel there was control of that environment. Sometimes players are just reckless, but that doesn’t mean it is excusable.

“We had a player who had a serious injury, there’s a couple of others who were lucky to escape from that and that is why I was disappointed with the way the night panned out.

“I don’t question referee’s decisions. I’ve never used them as an excuse.

“But, in terms of protection of players, that’s where referees have to be