Kevin Clancy Celtic v Rangers takes offense at referee bosses

The official was the man in the middle for Saturday’s Powderkeg Derby duel in Glasgow.

The game ended 3-2 for Ange Postecoglou’s side who took another big step towards the Premiership title.

Clancy’s performance was put to the test after the vibrant game.

The referee’s decision to chop off Alfredo Morelos’ goal in the first half of the game has proved highly controversial.

It was revealed today by the Scottish Football Association that Clancy has received a spate of offensive messages since his involvement in the game over the bank holiday weekend.

The SFA had to forward a “significant volume of threats and abusive emails to Police Scotland after ‘personal and professional contact details’ were leaked from Clancy’s.

And now the body representing civil servants in Scotland has offered its support to Clancy.

CONTINUE READING: SFA brief police on abuse of Kevin Clancy after Celtic vs Rangers

They said: “SSFRA condemns the totally unacceptable level of insults directed at Kevin Clancy following this weekend’s game between Celtic and Rangers.

“Referees are not immune to criticism and accept that there will always be legitimate debate about subjective decisions.

“However, when this turns into targeted threats and abuse that impacts their personal and professional lives, it clearly crosses the line.

“We continue to offer our full support to Kevin and all of our members, many of whom have experienced an increase in abuse this season.

Scottish FA Chief Executive Ian Maxwell said: “The nature of the messages goes well beyond criticism of the performance and perceived decision-making – some are potentially criminal in nature and involve threats and abuse towards Kevin and his family.

“We have forwarded the correspondence to the police and strongly condemn this behavior, as well as the publication of a referee’s personal details online with the sole purpose of causing trouble.

“Football is our national sport. It improves and saves lives. There is no match without a referee and while decisions are always discussed with or without the use of VAR, we cannot allow a situation to develop where the privacy and safety of a referee and that of his family is at risk.

“We all have a responsibility to protect our game and those essential to it.”