Ronny Deila, the Celtic manager, yesterday admitted that he had changed his mind about the red card issued to one of his defenders, Dedryck Boyata, in their match against Hamilton Academical on Friday night.
Having watched replays of the incident “over and over again”, he said he was wrong to have said that the player deserved it and revealed that the club would appeal against his dismissal for a last-man challenge on Carlton Morris.
After the 1-1 draw at New Douglas Park, Deila said that the sending-off by the referee Craig Thomson was an “okay decision”, because Boyata had not touched the ball, but TV coverage, from a variety of angles, later suggested otherwise.
“I have changed my mind because I have seen it 100 times now, over and over again,” Deila said. “We are going to appeal the decision because he gets a touch on the ball and it’s not a red card. When you see from behind the goal, you see he touched it. It was also offside so there are a couple of things that have gone wrong. We got a red card but I don’t think he should be banned for an extra game and that’s why we are trying to appeal it.”
“I don’t want to put pressure on the refs and say I don’t trust them
After the match, Deila criticised Boyata’s defending, but he will not be apologising for that. He is adamant that, even if the referee was wrong, the Belgian defender should not have given him a decision to make by sliding into the tackle. “I stand by what I said about wanting my players to stay on their feet. That’s my view as a coach. I want them to run with players instead of tackling. I talked with Dedryck, but I don’t rush to apologise. I still believe what I said.”
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Deila has been criticised for not having supported his player in the controversy. Chris Sutton, the former Celtic striker, accused the Norwegian of naivete and said that, by “hanging Boyata out to dry”, he had killed any chance Celtic might have had of winning an appeal.
Deila says that he is guilty only of being honest as his opinion of the incident changed. “If anyone supports the players, it’s me. I stand behind them and I always will. But this is about football tactics. It’s nothing against Dedryck; it’s for the whole team.
“We have had too many red cards against us and I was honest. What’s the problem? Everybody knows I have a good working relationship with Dedryck and he’s played almost every game.This for me is no problem. I was honest on Friday and I am honest now.
“I don’t want to put pressure on the refs and say I don’t trust them. I believe in humanity. I believe everyone wants to do their best, but you have to admit mistakes. I am also a humble guy and when I see something wrong, I will say it. I believe Dedryck took the ball, but it was a tough decision for the ref. What’s done is done and we want to have Dedryck out on the pitch.”