CRAIG LEVEIN launched a blistering attack on ‘abysmal’ referee Bobby Madden and claimed Hearts were playing against 13 men in their defeat to Rangers at Tynecastle.

The Jambos went down 2-1 on Sunday as efforts from Connor Goldson and Alfredo Morelos cancelled out Gareth McAuley’s own goal that put Hearts ahead early on.

Boss Levein was furious that Morelos’ winner wasn’t chopped off for offside and critical of Madden for refusing to book the Colombian for a number of fouls during a tempestuous Tynecastle clash.

Levein said: “I read a quote from Neil Lennon a few weeks ago when they went to Celtic Park and he said that ‘we were playing against 12 men’ and that’s how I feel today.

“How Morelos stays on the park, never mind gets through that without a booking, I’ll never know. Some of the decisions today were abysmal.

“Austin [MacPhee] phoned John Fleming a while ago because we had three goals against us that were offside because the linesman made mistakes.

"John Fleming suggested that we held the line on the 18 yard line to make it easier for his officials. So we did that today and they still f*****g got it wrong!

"Actually, it was 13 we are playing against. And the good thing is that Neil Lennon didn’t get any punishment - that’s good to know.

"So: the referee was abysmal and we were playing against 13 men. That’s my view on it. It’s really good news that there won’t be any punishment.

"Have I been in to see Bobby? What’s the point, unless he’s got a time machine and go back to fix his mistakes.

"Morelos had loads of fouls where he doesn’t even watch the ball. He just jumps into the centre-backs. There was one where he has smashed Christophe and Bobby said to one of our players: ‘It’s alright, that’s just Morelos - he’s a bit silly sometimes’.

"Well maybe I’ll tell our players to be silly because you don’t get booked for it! It was an abysmal performance."