Aberdeen star Graeme Shinnie has hit out at Celtic midfielder Scott Brown for celebrating in front of the opposition fans on Saturday.
Celtic beat Aberdeen 2-1 in the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden at the weekend to complete their domestic treble haul, courtesy of goals from Stuart Armstrong and Tom Rogic.
However, Brown made a concerted effort to celebrate their triumph after the final whistle in front of the Aberdeen fans, an act which Dons regular Shinnie has condemned.
The Aberdeen left-back criticised his Scotland international team-mate for the incident, branding him as a ‘pantomime villain’ for purposely riling up the fans.
When asked if Brown’s actions were uncalled for, he told the Scottish Sun: “It was. Naturally you are going to celebrate after the season Celtic have had but it was maybe the wrong place at the wrong time.
“You couldn’t not notice. It was right in front of our face. It is naturally going to rile you up after losing the game in the last minute.
“He plays the pantomime villain but it is clearly going to rile the Aberdeen fans. I’m not going to lie about that, it wasn’t nice.”
Brown’s celebrations saw him standing alone outside the Aberdeen technical area with three fingers in the air, while his Celtic team-mates had all chosen to celebrate in front of their own supporters.
The significance of Brown’s three-fingered celebration represents Celtic’s treble triumph, having pipped Aberdeen to both the Scottish League Cup and Scottish Premiership titles earlier in the campaign.
However, there will also have been a sense of intent to press home the fact that Celtic had beaten Aberdeen on six occasions in all competitions throughout the campaign.
Celtic’s victory saw them record only their first domestic treble triumph since the 2000-01 season, and marks a successful debut campaign for manager Brendan Rodgers.