What The Ref Told Brendan Rodgers About Why Celtic Goal Was Disallowed

Here is what the referee told Brendan Rodgers about Celtic's disallowed goal against Hibernian at Easter Road.

. - Celtic v Bayern Munchen, UEFA Champions League, Knockout Play-off first leg, Celtic Park Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland - 12th February 2025. Daniel Weir Crystal Pix Brendan Rodgers Manager of Celtic. - Celtic v Bayern Munchen, UEFA Champions League, Knockout Play-off first leg, Celtic Park Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland - 12th February 2025. Daniel Weir Crystal Pix Glasgow Celtic Park Stadium Scotland Copyright: xDanielxWeirx CP_Celtic_Munich_14 / IMAGO / Crystal Pix

Celtic lost at Easter Road against Hibernian. It was not a good performance from the Bhoys and they need to go back to the drawing board. That being said, the result was not without its controversy.

Celtic had gone into half-time two goals down but Daizen Maeda grabbed one back in the second half. He then found the back of the net once again but unfortunately, it was disallowed by VAR.

It was adjudged by VAR that the ball had gone out of play before Alistair Johnston had put in the cross. Of course, that is a decision that did not go down too well with many on the Celtic side of things.

Brendan Rodgers was visibly unhappy after the game and now, he has shared what the referee on the day, Steven McLean, told him regarding Maeda's second goal and why it was chalked off by VAR.

According to 67 Hail Hail, Rodgers said regarding the matter: "He (McLean) just said afterwards that it was a VAR decision, that it was factually out. Which will be interesting from the 18-yard line, if you don’t have the actual images.

“That’s what I’m saying, I don’t want to be overly critical until someone produces an actual piece of evidence that tells us the ball was conclusively out."

Of course, VAR has always been a topic of discussion when it comes to Scottish football. It was introduced in order to make sure that there are fewer controversial decisions made during matches. But a lot of the time, technology ends up becoming a part of the problem rather than the solution. This might have been one such instance.

There is no point dwelling too much on the incident though. Yes, the result might have turned out differently on another day. That does not take away from Celtic's performance though.

Celtic need to be much better in upcoming games. They might have a commanding lead in the title race but there is no room for complacency with 11 league games still to be played.