On a day Celtic could have taken a big step forward in the title race, the Bhoys have stumbled with a 2-0 defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle.
Jorge Grant opened the scoring from the penalty spot after a contentious handball decision involving Tomoki Iwata.
By that point, Celtic were already down to ten men following a high boot from Hyunjun Yang, putting the Jam Tarts in pole position to win.
There was no real fightback from the ten-man visitors in the second half, with striker Lawrence Shankland netting to double the Hearts advantage and help them see the game out.
It was a bitterly disappointing afternoon for Celtic and supporters. Here are the big talking points coming out of a dramatic 90 minutes…
Celtic miss chance to punish Rangers
A lot will be said about today’s match. There is valid criticism of the refereeing decisions and interventions of VAR to be shared. However, ultimately, Celtic didn’t take the chances offered to them to get ahead in the match.
Adam Idah was handed a golden opportunity to put the Bhoys ahead early from the penalty spot after Hyunjun Yang was taken down in the box. Unfortunately, despite previously showing aptitude here, his effort was poor and saved by the legs of Zander Clark.
If it had gone in, much of what followed would not have occurred, primarily the red card shown to Yang in the immediate aftermath.
We really needed to see a strong Celtic performance and result today to shift momentum in the title race and go top of the table with nine games remaining. As it is, Rangers’ defeat to Motherwell on Saturday has gone unpunished.
VAR fallout is a certainty
The officials’ performance will undoubtedly be under scrutiny in the wake of this one. From the penalty given to Celtic, the red card handed out to Yang and the farcical spot kick given to Hearts, it was a bad day for the SFA’s men.
Don Robertson was the man in the middle, aided by John Beaton at VAR headquarters.
The most shocking decision was the one that put Hearts ahead. Iwata was off balance with his back turned to the ball when it fell from a height, deflected off another player and hit his elbow. It was never a penalty in a million years to most observers.
Even looking at the handball rules, it’s a decision that is hard to comprehend, especially with the use of technology to aid judgements.
Neil Lennon and other Sky pundits also thought the high boot from Yang on Alex Cochrane was not deserving of a red, another big call that changed the entire game.
Understandably there is deep frustration amongst the Celtic support that officials have inserted themselves into the direction of a result without much justification.
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