EAGLED-EYED VAR official were quick to rule out three Kyogo Furuhashi goals in Celtic’s 1-0 Champions League win over Switzerland’s Young Boys at Parkhead last night.
They also flagged up Daizen Maeda’s act of petulance in the 90th minute when the Hoops winger tussled with a defender that saw Norwegian referee Rohit Saggi sent to the touchline monitor to upgrade a yellow card to a straight red.
The Japanese ace’s indiscretion, with just five minutes of stoppage-time to play, means he will take no part in the final qualifier against Aston Villa in the Midlands on Wednesday.
APPREHENSIVE…Arne Engels looks concerned just before his penalty-kick.
BAD CALL…two Young Boys players are clearly seen in the penalty box as Engels prepares to take his kick.
So, the Euro technicians were on the ball in the east end of Glasgow which makes it even more puzzling why they missed ordering a retake after Arne Engels had fluffed his 39th-minute penalty-kick.
The Belgian, with a 100 per cent record of six out of six in his previous attempts from 12 yards, looked horrified as keeper Marvin Keller got down to his left to make a routine save.
However, another look at the incident clearly shows two Swiss players encroaching inside the box as Engels prepares to strike the ball.
By the letter of the law, that should constitute a retake of the spot-kick, but on this occasion the VAR team failed to spot the intrusion, probably the only thing they missed all night.
Thankfully, it didn’t matter after Loris Benito deflected in the winner in the 86th minute that ensured Brendan Rodgers’ side qualified for the play-offs of European football’s most prestigious competition.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED IN NIGHT OF HIGH DRAMA