CELTIC crock Kris Commons reckons Nadir Ciftci shouldn’t have been allowed to score Dundee United’s goal in the 1-1 Scottish Cup quarter-final draw at Tannadice.
The midfielder, sidelined with a thigh injury, is convinced the striker should have been red-carded in the melee that saw Virgil van Dijk and Paul Paton sent off in the tenth minute.
Turkish striker Ciftci, who was allowed to play in the tie after having an appeal against a ban upheld, was involved in a tussle on the ground with Hoops skipper Scott Brown.
TV pictures clearly showed him kicking Brown in the face, but referee Craig Thomson and blundering assistant Graham Chambers missed the incident.
In the chaotic aftermath, Thomson red-carded Van Dijk, ordered off against Inter Milan earlier in the month, and Paton, who had absolutely nothing to do with the flare-up.
The unfortunate Tayside midfielder was fingered by Chambers when it was obvious team-mate Calum Butcher was the United player involved in the fracas.
The referee then produced the red cards on the say-so of his assistant who was only yards from the clash.
Ciftci put Jackie McNamara’s side ahead via the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time after a dodgy decision by the whistler.
But Commons was far from impressed. He said: “At their penalty, I don’t believe there was a great deal of contact.
“However, I can see why the young guy (Aiden Connelly) has gone done. He’s drawn Anthony Stokes into a position and he expects there to be contact.
“Stokesy doesn’t make any contact at all, but the boy goes down in a delayed reaction.
“Ciftcu was calm and it was a natural finish. Craig Gordon goes the right way and maybe thought he would get to it, but it’s practically right in the bottom corner in at the sidenetting.
“But if you go back to the earlier incident, he was very lucky to be on the pitch to score that goal.”
