Celtic captain Scott Brown has warned Motherwell against a physical approach when the sides meet in the Scottish League Cup final on Sunday.
Motherwell overcame Rangers 2-0 in the semi-finals last month to book their place in the showpiece, but the match was overshadowed by Well’s physical approach to proceedings.
Ryan Bowman was guilty of two elbows, the second of which broke Fabio Cardoso’s nose, and Brown has warned that such play has no place on the football field.
As quoted by the Scottish Sun, he said: “There is not a problem as long as it is all within the laws of the game and they do it properly. It is a contact sport but you simply can’t raise elbows. And that is the difference.
“There is a difference when you hit someone on the face with an elbow. You can knock them out, you can concuss them. It is not what football is about.”
OPINION
It seems somewhat ironic to hear these words come out of Scott Brown’s mouth. The Hoops skipper is notorious of employing what might be viewed as dirty tactics by the opposition, and he is not afraid to ruffle a few feathers with his physical play. But in many ways he is right. Bowman’s conduct in the semi-final was unbefitting of the game, and Cardoso has missed a big chunk of the season as a result. In terms of the final, Motherwell will have to do much more than play dirty to beat this Celtic side. A few elbows will not do the trick, as it did against the Gers. That is not to say that Motherwell have no chance, but it will take a monumental effort to overcome this record-breaking Hoops team.