Mark Devlin 
Ian MacNicol/Getty Images Sport
Brendan Rodgers has called on Scottish officials to be more strict when it comes to aggressive challenges.
His comments come after 19-year-old full-back Kieran Tierney was on the receiving end of a brutal tackle inflicted on him by Motherwell striker Ryan Bowman in the Hoops 2-0 win last weekend.
Bowman’s reckless challenge left Celtic fans furious at referee Kevin Clancy’s decision not to show the forward a red card.
The same happened to winger Scott Sinclair in the Cup thrashing over Inverness two weeks weeks ago when he was tackled from behind by midfielder Iain Vigurs, though referee Kevin Clancy decided against sending him off.
Quoted by The Telegraph, Rodgers spoke of what he’d hope officials would do to prevent such tackles happening in the future:
I have young players but I ask them to be men in the game and I think we have shown over the course of the season we can handle a tough, aggressive, tight game of football.
We can take that but I need the officials to control it – if something is a bad tackle, they have got to see it.
John Kennedy lost his career on the back of an absolutely disgraceful challenge and that could easily have happened to Kieran Tierney last week. It is the responsibility of officials to protect players – not just the referee, but all four of them.
I don’t know what it is. I know a player like Sinclair is quick and dynamic and that can affect timing, but a bad challenge is a bad challenge. I don’t care who it is.
I’m not saying to go soft. In Scotland and in England we see two teams competing and fighting for the result, but we have seen some naughty challenges. I’m talking primarily about my players but if it’s happening elsewhere then it’s an issue.
John Kennedy, who Rodgers mentioned, suffered a horrific knee injury on his Scotland debut that put him out of action for 3 years, and eventually forced him into retirement.
Luckily Tierney nor Sinclair were harmed despite video footage showing that they both could’ve been much worse.
