Celtic call on SFA to release “definitive image” for Maeda’s disallowed goal vs Hibernian
By Lewis Blaikie
Celtic are pushing the SFA to release a definitive image which shows why Daizen Maeda’s goal against Hibernian was disallowed at the weekend, a source close to the club has said.
The Hoops experienced their second defeat of the season as they travelled to the capital for the early kick-off on Saturday as the hosts beat the champions 2-1.
A brace from Josh Campbell in the first half saw Hibs go into the break 2 goals to the good, but Celtic flipped the script in the second half and Daizen Maeda thought he had brought Celtic level, only for VAR to overturn the referee’s decision.
The goal was ruled out as Alan Muir on VAR deemed Alistair Johnstons cross to have gone out.
Celtic have this morning asked the SFA to release the image used to make the decision as the current evidence shows nothing conclusive in the officials’ favour.
Michael Ross of Celtic news site CeltsAreHere, has backed the club in their pursuit: “For me, I can’t tell if the ball was in our out, so how could Alan Muir?” Ross told Standard sport.
Ross added: “Until the SFA release the footage that VAR was looking at, it’s going to remain a talking point, and despite the club looking for clarity, nothing is going to change because of this”.
Muir has come under fire for large parts of this season for some of his decisions, most notably denying Celtic a stonewall penalty against Motherwell.
“I’m not crying conspiracy, I don’t buy that at all, but it’s not the first time Alan Muir has been involved in dodgy calls involving Celtic this season, which brings in a wider question on the competency of Scottish referees” Ross said.
It wasn’t just Celtic who can feel hard done by VAR this weekend, St. Johnstone also had a controversial equaliser ruled out against Hearts on Sunday.
It was another case of inconclusive evidence in Perth, as VAR ruled Drey Wright to be in an offside position when he thought he’d earned the saints a vital point.
In both cases, depending on what angle you view the incidents at, you arrive at a different answer, which poses the question on whether or not VAR is up to scratch.
“We need to look at how we can bring referees on in Scotland, this might involve scrapping VAR or at least not using a Poundland version of it”.
This comes after Dundee United calling for VAR reform earlier in the month, as well as withdrawing from the ‘Key Match Incident Panel’ due to a lack of trust in the system.
United said in a statement at the time “We believe the panel’s outcomes have been inconsistent with feedback provided by the Scottish FA, there have been instances where on-field decisions, supported by VAR and endorsed by the Scottish FA Refereeing Department, were contradicted by the KMI panel”.
All of Scottish football appears to be suffering from the failings of VAR, this is an issue that won’t go away quickly, or quietly.
