There were lots of talking points coming out of last weekend’s defeat to Kilmarnock in the Scottish League Cup, not least Celtic’s poor performance and inability to create chances.
However, some fans felt aggrieved with a late non-penalty call after Sead Haksabanovic was bundled over in the box, with VAR not determining it was worthy of an on-pitch review.
It created a large amount of noise on the football talk shows in the aftermath, with Rangers-leaning pundits such as Barry Ferguson even admitting they thought it should have been a spot kick to Celtic.
As always, there’s a section of the Celtic support that wants the club and staff to take a hardline approach with the Scottish FA and their officials, but if Brendan Rodgers’ comments on the incident are anything to go by, that won’t materialise any time soon. He’s suggested it’s a 50/50 incident that could have gone either way.
Rodgers said [Scottish Daily Mail, 25/08 print edition page 73]: “It’s one that’s gone. I did see a clip of it. I can see why you could say it maybe was or why it isn’t, but I never get overly hung up on it because we didn’t get it.
“Of course, if it is repetitive, you can look at it. I felt at the time that it was in the balance, but we didn’t get it.”
Personally speaking, I thought it was a penalty. Haksabanovic is clearly clipped and there was enough contact for him to lose his balance and hit the deck.
I have to say though that if Rodgers had come out on the warpath looking for answers from officials in the aftermath, it would have only left Celtic open to criticism in the wake of a poor performance and cup exit.
You have to pick your moments with these things and it wasn’t the right time for him to kick up a fuss. As the Celtic boss says, if there are repeated incidents it is something he will no doubt raise.
In other news, Emilio Izaguirre helps seal imminent Celtic transfer despite lucrative offers elsewhere.
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