SEETHING Kelechi Iheanacho insisted the ball did NOT hit his hand in the moment before VAR ruled out his goal in the frustrating 2-0 loss to Sporting Braga at Parkhead last night.
The Nigerian striker was adamant the ball struck him on the face before he carried on and slotted what looked like a perfectly legitimate equaliser behind the exposed keeper.
However, Iheanacho’s joy and the cheers of the celebrating fans was cut short when German referee Tobias Stieler chalked it off.
USING THE HEAD…Kelechi Iheanacho races away from two Sporting Braga defenders before scoring the goal that was controversially ruled out.
A lengthy VAR delay followed and, strangely Christian Dingert, in charge of the screens, did not order the match official to have a look at a replay of the incident.
The whistler then signalled handball and wiped out the strike – just six minutes after the interval – which would have acted as a much-needed lifeline in a tense Europa League encounter.
“The ball didn’t hit my hand, it hit my face.
“We are disappointed, I don’t know what they did there.
“The referee knows it wasn’t a handball. It changed the game and, hopefully, they can sort that out.”
Iheanacho, speaking to the Scottish Sun, added: “We are gutted that we lost.
“We need to do more, but, hopefully, we can win on Sunday.
“We need to keep our heads up and focus on the weekend.”
Motherwell are due to provide the opposition in a must-win league confrontation for the champions who dropped two points behind Hearts at the top of the Premiership following a drab goalless home draw with Hibs last Saturday.
