Celtic manager, Brendan Rodgers, admitted he was left “baffled” after a controversial refereeing call denied his side a crucial goal in their 2-0 Europa League loss to Braga.
The incident came in the 51st minute when Kelechi Iheanacho pressed former Celtic defender Gustaf Lagerbielke, blocking his attempted clearance and slotting home what appeared to be the equaliser.
Replays suggested the ball struck the forward in the face, but German referee Tobias Stieler adjudged it to be handball.
VAR official Christian Dingert upheld the on-field decision after a lengthy two-minute review, awarding Braga a free-kick despite no clear evidence of an infringement.
Celtic pushed for a way back, with Braga’s goalkeeper denying both Kieran Tierney and Sebastian Tounekti before Gabri Martinez wrapped up the result with a late strike five minutes from time.
Rodgers could not hide his frustration with the officiating process. Speaking to The Irish News, he said, “I can’t understand why the referee isn’t asked to go and have a look at it. Even if you look at it once, twice, and I’m assuming the guys in the VAR will have watched it more than that, because of the time it took, there’s absolutely no way from every angle you look at that he’s touched it. It’s hit his face, he’s gone on and finished it really, really well.
“I think clearly what the assumption is, that it’s not conclusive. But I think it’s very clear if you watch it – it’s a mistake by the referee. That for me is what VAR is about, to correct the wrong decision. So it was a wee bit baffling that he wasn’t even asked to come over and look at the screen.”
Braga had earlier taken the lead through Ricardo Horta, whose speculative 35-yard effort swerved in the air and caught out Kasper Schmeichel.
The veteran goalkeeper reacted slowly, misjudging the flight of the ball before helping it into the net, having already been guilty of giving away possession several times in the opening stages.
Rodgers acknowledged the error but defended the experienced shot-stopper, saying, “It looks like the ball is moving. Of course, he probably will be disappointed with it.
“What’s important is, if you make a mistake in the game, which all players can do, you don’t follow that up with another two or three. Kasper has made some great saves for us. I think there will be a couple of ones that we’ll analyse with him and look to correct.”
