Celtic have been embroiled in yet more VAR controversy after having a strong penalty shout turned down in the derby against Rangers.
The Ibrox side were 2-1 up at the time after Ryan Kent and James Tavernier goals clawed back the deficit created by Daizen Maeda's early opener. Kyogo Furuhashi later equalised to ensure a point for the champions.
Rangers' centre-back Connor Goldson appeared to commit a handball offence in the box shortly after the hour mark in the SPFL Premiership match when a shot hit his outstretched arm.
Referee John Beaton did not stop play at the time and VAR Willie Collum didn't feel the incident was a clear and obvious error.
That’s a penalty. Horrendous. pic.twitter.com/MXCJ3DtfQL
— Sean Martin (@seanmartinTCW) January 2, 2023
In the build-up to the game, Ange Postecoglou had expressed hope that VAR wouldn't kill the atmosphere of a showdown beamed across the world.
“I am sure the authorities and officials are well aware of the magnitude of the game and the eyes that will be on the game,” he said.
“The last thing that we all want is to be standing around and watching an individual with his hand to his ear for too long. That is not what people around the world are going to be wanting to watch.
“If mistakes are made in terms of decisions I think we can deal with that, but ultimately what we want to see is a good game of football.”
Postecoglou sprung a surprise in his team selection by starting James Forrest over Liel Abada or Jota and handing Alistair Johnston his debut.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Postecoglou said: "It is a combination of things. He [Johnston] has been with us for a couple of weeks and he has trained well.
He is fit and ready to go. Jura [Juranovic] still does not feel 100 per cent so we went with Alistair in the end and Juranovic is available if we need him."
Juranovic did enter the fray when Greg Taylor went down injured but struggled in his outing.
Our Celtic Digest newsletter brings exclusive content directly to you rather than solely through the website. You can already find us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram but we will also send bespoke opinion pieces and special features every day directly to your email inbox every evening. Not only will you receive this article from Sean Martin, Tony Haggerty or Aidan Macdonald (or, sometimes, all three) but you will also get easy access to our best content from the last 24 hours too. It’s a great way to keep up to date with what’s happening at Ange Postecoglou’s Scottish champions. To sign up, simply take five seconds to type in your email here. Simple!
