Celtic battled to a 2-1 win in Alloa on Saturday evening, in a largely underwhelming but ultimately successful performance which saw the club advance to the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.
Goals by Giorgos Giakoumakis and Liel Abada saw the Hoops go 2-0 up against the Clackmannanshire side before a goal by Conor Sammon set up a nervy finish.
Ange’s men will face Raith Rovers, in a repeat of the 3-0 Scottish League Cup win against the Kirkcaldy-based side earlier in the season.
But ahead of the next round, Postecoglou has called for tighter refereeing after the injuries suffered by Yosuke Ideguchi and Callumc McGregor after a rowdy Alloa display.
“I’m disappointed [for Ideguchi]because he wants to come in and make an impact,” Postecoglou said to the Glasgow Times.
“That was his first start, and to be out for a period of time because of something that during the game could have been taken control of by the referee is disappointing for him.
“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 don’t question referee’s decisions, I understand they’ve got a difficult job to do. We’ve had some good ones, we’ve had some bad ones, but I’ve never used them as an excuse. But in terms of protection of players, that’s where referees have to be vigilant, because we’re told they will be at the start of every season,
“I’ve managed in different countries, I’ve managed in World Cups, and there are certain rules that have changed along the way in my 25 years of management.
“But the one consistent factor is that we’re always shown this vision of actions they deem to be premeditated or reckless. It doesn’t have to be premeditated, it can just be a challenge that is reckless, and anything that endangers a player on the field should be dealt with.
“I was disappointed it wasn’t dealt with the other night.”
Celtic’s next game is the away tie against Hearts later tonight.
And a win could see them move within just one point of bitter rivals theRangers in a bid to win the title.
Surely celtic can’t be moaning about the refs, the way they have went on about rangers taking the refs to task I thought it was beneath them to mention refs, will they go on about them till they threaten to strike like last time few years ago