BITTON: Dive should have led to Lafferty red

nIR BITTon has branded Kyle Lafferty a ‘diver’ and insisted the Hearts striker should have been sent off during saturday’s Premiership opener at Celtic Park.

The 29-year-old was already on a booking for persistent fouling when he tumbled on the edge of the box in a failed attempt to win a free-kick.

Mikael Lustig waved an invisible card towards referee Kevin Clancy but the northern Irishman escaped punishment.

However, Bitton insisted he could not get too worked up about Lafferty’s simulation as he claimed the striker had no influence on a game the scottish champions cruised 4-1.

‘should Lafferty have been sent off? Well, he had a yellow card then it was 100-per-cent a dive,’ said the Israeli.

‘But it doesn’t matter. We won 4-1 and it’s gone now. It wasn’t about me and Lafferty. It was about how we defended as a team — but I don’t think he did anything (of note in the match).’

Following a foul on Celtic full-back Kieran Tierney in the second half, Lafferty was substituted by Hearts,

apparently for his own good. The former Rangers striker also appeared to give the middle finger to Celtic fans near the away dugout at Parkhead. And at full-time, he bit back at home supporters who were giving him stick as he handed a Hearts jersey over to a young fan in the away end. It was merely the latest spat on an opening day of bad blood between Celtic and Hearts. Tynecastle interim boss Jon Daly, appointed after the sacking of Ian Cathro on Tuesday morning, was ferocious in his criticism of Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers after the game. The 34-year-old branded Rodgers’ criticism of the Edinburgh club’s recruitment policy as ‘disgusting’ and ‘disgraceful’. Responding to Cathro’s dismissal, Rodgers had questioned the signings of Lafferty and Christophe Berra, claiming they were ill-suited to the style of play favoured by the doomed rookie head coach. But a furious Daly insisted Rodgers had crossed a line, saying: ‘I thought Brendan’s comments were absolutely disgusting. Disgraceful. ‘I’ve followed Brendan’s career down south when he was at Liverpool and not once did I hear him make a comment about the structures at Manchester United, Chelsea or Manchester City. ‘But all of a sudden he comes to Celtic and thinks it’s acceptable. ‘At the minute our club is very easy to pick on and kick.’ Daly also said it was ‘farcical’ for Rodgers

to suggest Cathro had been undermined by under-fire Hearts director of football, Craig Levein. Daly added: ‘Questioning Ian’s authority? That shows me he doesn’t know Ian very well. I’ve not had the chance to see (Rodgers) yet but when I see him I will tell him I’m not happy.’ But Rodgers hit back, insisting he will not be stopped from speaking his mind on managerial matters. The Celtic boss said: ‘I said what I had to say — my feelings on a fellow manager losing his job. ‘It’s okay, there’s no drama. Like I said when I first came up here, I will always be open, I will say what I think and then move on. In respect to Jon, I thought he set up his team very well, him and his staff. We had to work to get the result. But however they feel, it’s no drama for me. I haven’t spoken to them.’ Asked if he overstepped the mark talking about Lafferty and Berra, Rodgers claimed: ‘I don’t think I mentioned individual players. ‘I was talking about the manager. My focus was on the game, my empathy was for Hearts. ‘It’s a good club, Hearts, I’m sure they will get a solution for the new manager and look to push on.’ In a radio interview, however, Rodgers was spikier towards Daly when asked about the unwritten rule that managers do not discuss other managers or clubs. He said: ‘Yeah, well he (Daly) hasn’t become a manager yet, so wait until he becomes a manager and then he will know the rules of the game.’