Binya tackle on Celtic star 'one of the worst ever'

His claim came as UEFA launched an investigation into the midfielder's 'assault', amid calls for the Cameroonian to be hammered with an extended ban.

Hansson yesterday watched video replays of the X-rated tackle during Tuesday night's Champions League clash.

And he said: "I have refereed a lot of matches and witnessed a lot of bad challenges. It is one of the worst tackles I have ever seen and there is no doubt in my mind it merited a straight red card.

"I was close to the incident and was clear in my mind that it was an instant red card for serious foul play.

"I couldn't tell how badly injured the Celtic player was, or how injured he could have been, because the angle I was at wasn't the best for that. But the one thing I did know was that I had to show a red card. I've watched the incident again on TV and it has confirmed to me that I was 100-per-cent right with my decision."

Binya, meantime, denied trying to maim Brown with his studs-high assault on the Scotland international's shin near the end of Celtic's 1-0 victory.

He said: "I didn't intend to injure Brown. I raised my right foot to the opponent, but I did it without any intention of hurting him. It was just a heavy challenge. I have seen the tackle on television and it looks bad. But I can give my assurance that I didn't try to injure anyone."

Binya's pleas are unlikely to elicit clemency after Brown himself urged UEFA to go beyond the customary one-game ban for a sending-off.

A UEFA spokesman confirmed: "We haven't received the reports of the referee or the match delegate yet, but we always open a disciplinary case for a red card. This will be on the agenda of the next control and disciplinary body meeting on November 15.

"There will be at least a one-match ban but all red cards are judged individually. So we will need to wait until the meeting to see if there will be a further ban."

Brown, thankfully, appears to have avoided further damage to his leg.

"I'm all right - it was a bad challenge but I've come through it," said the Scotland midfielder, one week ahead of the key Euro 2008 clash with Italy.

"Hopefully, UEFA will deal with it properly."

Scotland assistant manager Roy Aitken was appalled by the tackle on Brown, conscious of the danger such recklessness might have harboured for a young player's career.

"It was a career-threatening tackle," said the former Celtic captain. "There's no way he (Binya) went for the ball at all. He went completely over the top of the ball. Scott went for the ball himself. He's so lucky and, hopefully, he has escaped without any major injury."

Aitken is also looking for UEFA to impose more than the mandatory one-match suspension.

He added: "It's not for me to say what would be a fitting punishment but, if we're going to stamp out that sort of challenge within the game, it was totally out of order.

"UEFA should look at that one and decide themselves - it definitely should be more severe than just a two or three-game ban. A lesson should be learnt from this and a precedent should be set. Any challenge like that, which is career-threatening to the opposite player, should really be hit severely."