Davie Provan has hit out at Ian Bankier for raising "deep concern" over referees ahead of a Premier Sports Cup semi-final against St Johnstone.
The Celtic chairman responded to a shareholder question about officials at Wednesday's club AGM by insisting he too was alarmed by the performance of Nick Walsh and Bobby Madden in recent fixtures.
Walsh was criticised for booking Cameron Carter-Vickers following a tussle with St Johnstone's Chris Kane, after which many Celtic fans felt the Saints striker should have been sent off.
And Madden earned himself a mention at the fiery Celtic Park meeting after awarding 27 fouls against Ange Postecoglou 's team during an October win over Aberdeen.
Speaking on the Go Radio Football Show, former Celtic striker Provan was less than impressed with the chairman's "grandstanding" in the face of an intense grilling from supporters.
He demanded Bankier says what he really thinks.
Provan fumed: "Where I do have a position is Ian Bankier criticising a referee before a game.
"What is that about? That's grandstanding, that's all that is. It's just trying to appease a section of the support.
"Is he trying to say the referee is biased or...? What is he trying to say here?"
Provan also took aim at majority shareholder Dermot Desmond over his non-attendance at the AGM.
And he wasn't done with Bankier either, insisting it's time for change on the Celtic board.
He said: "I don’t think it’s a good look. I know Celtic is a small part of the Desmond business empire but with the amount of people that care about the club, I think he could make an effort to turn up and show his face.
"It would go down well with supporters.
"It just doesn't look good when he's skipping it. As for Ian Bankier saying he's going to back Postecoglou... I'm not sure the supporters pay too much attention to what Mr Bankier says.
"I would really like, in the fullness of time, to see more support influence on the Celtic board.
"A lot of them have been there for too long. They failed the club recently, failed the club badly by getting complacent.
"The board as well as the team needs new blood."
Provan continued: "Ian Bankier should have been saying to the supporters today: ' Rangers have just lost their manager, we are right in this title race. From a position earlier in the season where Celtic were a shambles, we're back in this and will give Postecoglou the money to get us even further back into it and make sure Rangers won't get it all their own way, that Celtic are going to win the title again.'
"They've been asleep at the wheel for five, six, seven years. The team was deteriorating in front of their eyes but they were getting away with it because they were winning a Premiership with no opposition.
" Celtic should be measuring themselves in Europe and if you look at their European performances, the team was going downhill.
"The directors either couldn't see that or weren't prepared to address the problem and that's what blew up in their faces last season when they lost 10."
Provan then queried whether Bankier had addressed the failed pursuit of Eddie Howe, and suggested criticising referees and the Scottish Government was a deflection tactic.
"He didn't explain why they chased Eddie Howe for months, no? Did that come up?
"I've been to these AGMs and the punters are paid lip service. They get a question, they get a microphone for 30 seconds but they don't really get a chance to ask the uncomfortable questions that the board are very good at ducking.
"It seems to me, without having been there, that Mr Bankier is encouraging the siege mentality, he's pointing fingers at the Scottish Government, at referees.
"It suggests to me he's trying to take the heat off himself and his board."
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