Former Celtic striker John Hartson has defended Daizen Maeda after his sending off on Tuesday night against Atletico Madrid, even describing the sending off as harsh.
Hartson spoke of the negative effect the red card had on Tuesday’s match, which meant that Atletico were able to take full advantage of gaps all over the pitch with Celtic down to 10 men the Spanish giants scored five goals after Maeda’s sending off.
Maeda was sent off for a challenge on Mario Hermoso after 26 minutes, which was initially ruled to be a yellow card, but was overturned through VAR. Referee Ivan Kruzliak went to the monitor to see the incident slowed down, not in real-time, where he previously judged the foul to only warrant a yellow card, with the VAR completely changing the context of the tackle leading to a red card, despite Kruzliak being only yards away from Maeda when he committed the foul.
Maeda’s sending off baffled many, as there was no clear and obvious error in the referee booking the Celtic winger. But the nature of VAR is to look for even the slightest bit of contact freeze-framed, meaning that the referee was given an unnatural image of Maeda’s challenge, which emphasized contact, making the challenge appear much worse than in real-time or highlights had previously even shown.
Hartson said: [Go radio], “I thought Maeda was harshly sent off, so Celtic had to play with 10 men for 70 minutes, and you go in at halftime 2-0 down, the game is finished; you cannot physically get back. I think a lot of things conspired against Celtic. I’m not trying to make excuses, Atletico Madrid were by far the better team on the night and scored some great goals.
“The game got taken away from Celtic, but Atletico are a brilliant side. They will be in the mix at the end of the tournament. I think even 11 vs 11 Atletico Madrid would have probably still won the game; they are a fantastic team.”
“Going to Rome is very difficult; it’s a tough fixture anywhere you go in Europe in the Champions League. It’s a hard game, and you’ve got to be absolutely perfect your discipline, your all-around play, your keeper is going to have to have a great game, and you’re going to have to take your chances when they come.
“It’s difficult now for Celtic to even get third; they have to win both games, Lazio and Feyenoord, just to give themselves a glimmer of an opportunity. It’s challenging, especially considering the current state of the group.”
Celtic now face a monumental task to finish second in the group, but they do have an outside chance of qualification for the knockout stages, needing big wins against Lazio and Feyenoord. Celtic have beaten Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico previously 2-1 back in 2019 but now need to win by two goals.
The reverse fixture at Celtic Park this season showed Celtic are capable of causing the Italian side problems despite losing 2-1. The Bhoys were unfortunate not to get a point in Glasgow and even at times looked to be pushing to win the game, taking the lead through Kyogo Furuhashi in the first half.
Brendan Rodgers’ side will have to win against Lazio without Maeda through suspension after his red card and without Luis Palma, who will also be suspended for the game after he picked up a yellow card in Madrid on Tuesday, meaning he will miss the crucial fixture having picked up three yellow cards so far this season in the Champions League.
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