Sport nationSFA PANEL RULES IN FAVOUR OF CELTIC OVER DISALLOWED GOAL
A review by the Scottish Football Association’s (SFA) Key Match Incident panel has concluded that Celtic’s Daizen Maeda should not have had his goal disallowed in the recent match against Hibernian.
The incident occurred when Maeda scored what he thought was the equalizing goal, only for it to be ruled out by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) due to the ball allegedly going out of play in the build-up. The decision sparked controversy, with Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers expressing his frustration and disappointment.
Rodgers stated, “My take is that the (VAR) official Alan Muir has had a guess at it because the linesman arguably has the best view in the stadium and doesn’t give it. For that to get overturned, then I’m assuming there’s an absolute clear image of the ball being out of play. My experience up here with VAR is that we don’t have all the angles.”
The SFA panel’s review of the incident found that the majority of its members (four out of five) believed that the on-field decision to award the goal should have stood. The panel concluded that there was not enough evidence for the VAR to intervene and overturn the original decision.
The report stated, “The majority (4:1) of the panel deemed the on-field decision of goal to be correct. They felt the factual VAR intervention for the ball being out of play was incorrect. One panel member felt VAR was correct to intervene as they believed one of the angles showed the ball out of play.”
The controversy surrounding the disallowed goal has sparked a wider debate about the use of VAR in Scottish football. While the technology is intended to help referees make accurate decisions, there have been concerns about its consistency and reliability.
In this case, the SFA panel’s review has vindicated Rodgers’ initial assessment that the VAR decision was incorrect. However, the incident has also highlighted the need for continued improvement and refinement of the VAR system to ensure that it is fair, accurate, and consistent.
Sport nation
