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Celtic boss Ronny Deila insists referees must be allowed to explain decisions in public

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Celtic boss Ronny Deila has called for referees to be granted permission to speak to managers after games to explain their decisions.

Celtic manager Ronny Deila believes referees should be able to explain their decisions post-match to avoid possible controversy.

Deila’s comments come after he was asked about transparency from match officials in the aftermath of last Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final between Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Celtic at Hampden Park.

Referee Steven McLean sparked a furore by failing to penalise Josh Meekings after the Inverness defender used an arm to block a goal-bound header from Leigh Griffiths with the Hoops winning 1-0 at Hampden Park on Sunday.

Deila's dream of a treble ended in a 3-2 extra-time defeat, while Meekings was offered a one-game suspension by SFA compliance officer Tony McGlennan for deliberate handball.

Everybody has to stand up. To be open and honest is important and then we can stop talking about this for weeks.
Ronny Deila

The defender won his appeal against the ban which would have ruled him out of the final, while separate to those events Celtic sought an understanding from the SFA for McLean’s decision not to award the penalty.

Ahead of Sunday’s trip to Tannadice for the Scottish Premiership match against Dundee United, Deila was asked if referees should be allowed to go public to justify their actions during a match.

"Why not?" said Deila. "What is the problem? I can't understand. Everybody has to stand up. To be open and honest is important and then we can stop talking about this for weeks.

'Humble'

"If I was the referee after that match and he knew what happened, I would say 'I didn't see it. I am very, very, sorry, I should have done better' and what more can anyone say?

"In Norway the referees are talking to the newspapers and saying 'I am sorry I missed it'. Just be humble and say how you felt. Instead of sitting and not saying anything. It is better to answer and then we move on."

Deila also believes errant officials should have to suffer the consequences of poor decisions just like players do.

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The former Stromsgodset boss said: "The referees have been good. I don't have any problems with them at all, but this incident was so crucial and I was very disappointed. You will never get it back.

"Everybody can make mistakes but if we make those mistakes as a team or as an individual, there are consequences.

"If the players perform badly, they get dropped from the team and criticised in newspapers. It is the same with the refs, there has to be consequences.

"Go after the player, maybe, but that is not the biggest issue. It is about not seeing an incident that is so clear, that is what we are talking about.”

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