Former Premiership referee Bobby Madden has blasted Kyogo Furuhashi's "reckless" foul on Aberdeen keeper Ross Doohan in the Dons' defeat to Celtic.

Replacing the injured Dimitar Mitov, Doohan was floored inside the opening minutes at Pittodrie by the Japanese striker who caught him flush in the face with his knee as he tried to chase a through ball.

It left many inside the ground calling for a red card, and former ref Madden believes Kyogo should have been booked for his challenge, with no cards issued by Don Robertson in the aftermath.

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Celtic went on to win the game 1-0 thanks to a late Reo Hatate winner, leaving Jimmy Thelin's men seven points adrift of the league leaders.

Doohan had been left in a heap while receiving treatment, but he was able to continue despite Tom Ritchie - recalled from his Bonnyrigg Rose loan this week - getting prepared in the dugout.

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Madden, who has often posted controversial moments on his Instagram, asked his followers if there should have been no card, a yellow card or a red card.

He was quick to note the majority voting for a red card were Dons and Rangers fans, while those who opted for no punishment were Celts.

In the end, 40 per cent opted for no card, 15 per cent for yellow, and 45 per cent for red, with Madden stopping just short of agreeing with the majority.

He did however believe it endangered the safety of Doohan, as he posted: "Yellow for me. Reckless and shows a disregard for opponent. Keeper has possession and I believe there is an opportunity to avoid contact."

Former Premier League whistler Dermot Gallagher adopted a different view however on Sky Sports' Ref Watch, insisting Robertson was right not to punish the Celtic striker.

He said: "The referee has dealt with it really well because if you look, one player's coming one way and one player's going another. They've both got to go for the ball and there's going to be the inevitable collision, there's no doubt about that.

"There's nothing they can do. I think the referee has felt, it's one of those things where they come together, it doesn't look nice but what can he do?"

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The Celts did have the ball in the net in the first-half, only for Paulo Bernardo's corner to be ruled out with Daizen Maeda muscling Doohan out of the way.

Gallagher agreed with the outcome as he said: "Yeah. If you look first and think, is there enough? But Maeda actually backs into him and the goalkeeper has nowhere to go. The goalkeeper can't make a punch. He did blow early before the ball went into the net."

He also considered Dons skipper Graeme Shinnie to be lucky to avoid a second yellow for chopping down sub Arne Engels.

He added: "I think he gets lucky because of where the ball goes. If you watch, the touch is heavy. So I think the referee just gives a trip.

"He doesn't think he's breaking up a promising attack, so on that basis he gives him the benefit of the doubt. Is it reckless? I think not. So I think the second player has actually saved him."