Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav is furious at the VAR call that ruled out his second-half goal against Celtic.
Ermedin Demirović was ruled offside by a small margin, but the main takeaway from the goal was that the striker had been off the pitch, potentially to be withdrawn due to injury.
Unbeknownst to Celtic’s defence, he ghosted onto the pitch and ran in to score. Martin O’Neill joked about the incident, saying that he himself could’ve scored in the situation.
It’s fair to say that Undav hasn’t taken the decision well.
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Deniz Undav on disallowed goal for Stuttgart
Reacting to the game with Sky Austria, Undav said: “The most important thing is that we progressed…
“I’m angry, but I’ll keep that to myself,” he added.
READ MORE: Martin O’Neill’s brilliant take on bizarre Stuttgart disallowed goal vs Celtic
“VAR is supposed to be there to help the game, but now it makes almost more mistakes than the referee on the pitch.
“Sometimes the people in Cologne – the VAR – seem to be watching with their eyes closed.
“It’s getting more and more ridiculous what nonsense VAR produces. I don’t even have an opinion on it anymore. It’s just nonsense.”
Undav isn’t alone in criticising VAR, but in fairness, the black-and-white nature of offside calls make it pretty hard for them to be incorrect.
Anyone who watched the game could clearly see that Demirovic was offside when Angelo Stiller played him in.
Undav’s rags-to-riches story is reminiscent of Jamie Vardy. Beginning in the German amateur leagues, he was picked up by Tony Bloom’s Union SG after scoring goals for SV Meppen in the nation’s third tier.
Bloom moved him to Brighton for £6 million in 2022, and after a successful loan at Stuttgart, they bought him for a club-record fee of £28 million in August 2024.
He has received six Germany caps under Julian Nagelsmann, scoring three goals.
McCowan has often played out of position on the wing this season 🙃
It's time he was given more of a chance in his natural role. Tell me if you agree ⏬
Impressive Celtic performances give Martin O’Neill Ibrox headache
The disallowed goal ensured that Viljami Sinisalo earned himself a clean sheet on an unexpected start, putting Kasper Schmeichel under further pressure amid widespread criticism.
Dane Murray also auditioned excellently for the top-of-the-table Glasgow Derby, with Benjamin Arthur unavailable due to registration.
Junior Adamu also started the game, assisting Luke McCowan’s early opener, keeping himself in O’Neill’s thoughts.
And speak of the devil… McCowan put in an outstanding display in just his second start since O’Neill’s second interim return. Given how the midfield has been criticised, he absolutely is in with a shout to start at Ibrox.
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