Ian Maxwell

A referee and His Family have been The Target of " threats and abuse" since he officiated at Saturday's Old Firm match.

The Scottish Football Association said Kevin Clancy 's contact details were published online over the weekend.

And he has received a series of " unacceptable" messages via email and phone.

SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell said Some of The Contact was " potentially criminal in nature".

The SFA said a " significant volume of threatening and abusive emails" had been referred to Police Scotland , but The Force said it had not received The Correspondence .

As a result, officers have yet to launch a formal investigation.

Clancy was targeted after the Scottish Premiership match in which Celtic defeated Rangers 3-2.

The SFA confirmed The Association 's security and integrity manager had been liaising with Clancy and The Force following the messages over the Easter weekend.

Mr Maxwell said: " The nature of the messages goes way beyond criticism of performance and perceived decision-making - Some are potentially criminal in nature and include threats and abuse towards Kevin and His Family .

" We have referred The Correspondence to The Police and condemn this behaviour in The Strongest possible terms, as well as the posting of a referee's personal details online with the sole purpose of causing distress.

" Football is our national game. It improves and saves lives. Without referees, there is No Game , and while decisions will always be debated with or without the use of VAR, we cannot allow a situation to develop where a referee's privacy and safety, and those of His Family , are compromised. "

He added everyone had a responsibility to " protect Our Game and those essential to it".

A spokesperson for the Ibrox club said: " Rangers condemns in The Strongest terms any abuse of match officials.

" We Are all passionate about Our Game , but targeted, personal abuse of referees cannot be tolerated. "

Meanwhile, the SFA also confirmed the referee operations team had responded to Rangers' request for an explanation for the decision to rule out a goal by Alfredo Morelos which they believe should have stood.

Rangers later said it had been told by the SFA that The Goal by Colombian striker was rightly disallowed.

The Statement continued: " The Club is astonished by this, especially given most observers, including former referees and former players, could see no issue with The Goal standing. "

Rangers also highlighted a case in England where Brighton and Hove Albion received an apology for not being awarded a penalty in a match against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

The spokesperson said: " While an apology does not alter the outcome of a match, such responsibility and openness would be welcome in Scotland. "

Source of news: bbc.com