VAR FLASHPOINT: RODGERS IS SPOT ON

BRENDAN RODGERS correctly assessed the situation following his comments on Hearts’ VAR-assisted penalty in Celtic’s contentious 2-0 defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle on March 3.

The Hoops manager was furious with the officiating of referee Don Robertson and VAR controller John Beaton, especially after the hosts were given a controversial penalty just before halftime to take the lead.

Yang Hyun-jun was sent off after 14 minutes following Beaton’s intervention. Initially, the winger was booked for a challenge on Alex Cochrane, but Beaton reviewed the incident and changed the decision to a red card.

Later in the game, Beaton intervened again after Robertson failed to act when the ball hit Tomoki Iwata’s arm during an aerial duel with Alistair Johnston and Stephen Kingsley.

The referee consulted the VAR monitor before awarding a penalty to the hosts, which Jorge Grant converted to score the opening goal past Joe Hart.

In a statement to CQN, Rodgers said: “I prefer not to comment on officials, but today’s match was affected by that. The officiating, from the on-field decisions to John Beaton in VAR, was very poor.

“The red card incident involving Yang looked dangerous in still images, but that wasn’t the reality of the situation. There was no intent. It was disappointing to go down to 10 men like that.

“The officials need to consider the full context of the action. The penalty decision against us was even worse. When you review the incident, it’s clear that Tommo was just jumping.”

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