Extreme Football Forum  |  Football Forums  |  Scottish Football  |  Topic: Celtic striker Samaras not punished by Scottish FA

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/9125501.stm

Celtic striker Georgios Samaras will not be punished following an incident with Allan McGregor in Sunday's 3-1 Old Firm derby defeat by Rangers.

There was speculation Samaras could be in trouble after appearing to nudge the Rangers goalkeeper with his knee during the match at Celtic Park.

However, the incident was deemed by the Scottish Football Association not to be violent conduct.

McGregor was himself recently given a retrospective ban.

That was for aiming a kick at Aberdeen striker Chris Maguire during Rangers' 3-2 win at Pittodrie, something that was spotted on video highlights of the match.

The laws of the game state: "A player is guilty of violent conduct if he uses excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball."

Celtic manager Neil Lennon was critical of referee Willie Collum, 31, who was in charge of his first Old Firm match.

Lennon felt that Collum ought to have sent off Rangers midfielder Lee McCulloch for a second bookable offence.

And the Northern Irishman believed that the whistler was wrong to award the visitors a penalty when Kirk Broadfoot fell inside the box after slight contact with Celtic defender Daniel Majstorovic.

"He has got a lot of questions to answer," said Lennon when interviewed by BBC Scotland after the defeat, which ended Celtic's run of eight wins on the trot in the Scottish Premier League this season while extending Rangers' own record to nine consecutive league victories.

"I feel let down on the penalty incident for sure. It's a big decision. I have seen a replay of the penalty and it looked soft.

"I'm not sure he saw it and I'm not sure why he has given it."

He's a lucky bhoy