Celtic lost to Hibs at Easter Road in controversial VAR circumstances.
Daizen Maeda saw his 24th goal of the season chalked off by VAR as the video referee deemed that the ball had crossed the Hibs byeline in the win over Celtic.
Brendan Rodgers raged at the VAR decision as he accused the VAR officials of taking a guess at the decision in Easter Road.
The Celtic manager confronted the on-field officials to vent his frustrations as the Bhoys suffered their second defeat of the season at the hands of the capital club.
Now, 24 hours later, the decision is still being discussed as Chris Sutton and Kris Boyd point the finger at the official who must ‘come out and explain’ why he got involved in the Celtic goal vs Hibs.
Chris Sutton demands explanation for Celtic VAR controversy at Hibs
First up is Sutton who is adamant that the ball never fully crossed the line and that Celtic’s goal should have stood.
Sutton told Sky Sports, “This is the debatable moment here, and I think, the goal was given, and there isn’t enough evidence to suggest otherwise.
“I think Brendan Rodgers talked about that after the game. And there’s a certain angle, I think maybe we’re going to see where I don’t think that the ball is out.
“I mean, there are certain pictures where the ball looks over the line, but then, but then hopefully we’ll see this angle in a minute where it clearly the goal should have been awarded.
“And Alan Muir has to come out and explain that because had the goal not been given in real-time, then that would have been the decision made and you would understand that.
“The fact the goal was given, he’s guessing, isn’t he, Alan? You cannot get in a situation like that. That’s not his role.”
Clearly, this is going to be discussed to the nth degree and the decision was so poor even Boyd couldn’t disagree with what Sutton had said.
Kris Boyd lambasts Alan Muir for ‘getting involved far too much’ in Celtic controversy
Boyd continued, “I think whether the ball is out or not, we will never know. It’s inconclusive. You can’t then go and guess.
“I think we’ve sat here, and everybody else has had a go and criticised Alan Muir, in terms of, you go back to the cup final, not getting involved in the decision.
“He got involved yesterday. But for me, he’s been getting involved in far too much recently. When you look at some of the things that’s been going on elsewhere.
“Motherwell and Maeda, I think it was Celtic Dundee as well where both of them get a hold of their shirt and he pulls the referee over to have a look at that as well.
“There are big moments in games. There’s big moments and that’s another one.”
VAR has caused controversy for Celtic since it was introduced way back in October 2022 and, in truth, it will continue to do so as long as Scottish football has this version of it.
If clubs are willing to, more money needs pumped into the refereeing technology to help improve the camera coverage at grounds.
But with so many high-profile decisions costing clubs on the pitch, it is unlikely that many will be willing to invest and take the cost off it as impatience grows around the controversial refereeing technology.
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