Brendan Rodgers Slams Don Robertson’s VAR Decision

Don Robertson was caught up in yet more VAR controversy with Celtic as the Hoops cruised to a 6-0 win.

In the first half, Celtic was awarded a free kick close to the St. Johnstone penalty area. The subsequent play saw the ball fall to Maeda, who struck it beautifully into the top left corner of the net. Initially, it appeared that Celtic had opened the scoring through Maeda’s brilliant effort.

However, the celebration was cut short as VAR intervened, spotting an alleged ‘foul’ by Celtic’s Auston Trusty during the buildup. The centre-back was accused of fouling an opponent, prompting referee Don Robertson to review the incident on the pitchside VAR monitor. After the review, Robertson disallowed the goal, a decision that puzzled players, fans, and the Celtic manager.

Replays showed that the incident involved merely a coming together of Trusty and a St. Johnstone player, with both players moving towards the ball without any clear intent to commit a foul. Trusty appeared to lose his marker, who then stepped into his path, resulting in what looked more like an accidental collision than a deliberate foul.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers was vocal in his criticism of the decision. In his post-match comments, Rodgers defended his player and criticised the decision to overturn the goal. “It should never have been disallowed,” Rodgers insisted. “Watch it back. Auston loses his marker, and their player steps into his space and bumps him and goes over and he’s hurt. Daizen gets a really good goal, but it’s disallowed. I didn’t think that should’ve been disallowed.”