Celtic Undone by Another Horrendous Decision; Officiating Inconsistency Continues

Celtic cruised to victory at McDiarmid Park this evening but were undone by a horrific officiating decision early on in the match.

Although he eventually got his goal in the second half, winger Daizen Maeda should have been on the scoresheet in the opening 45.

Celtic were awarded a free kick on the right wing, not far from the St. Johnstone penalty area.

The ball eventually fell for Maeda, who couldn’t have connected more sweetly with the ball.

The Japanese attacker leathered it into the top left corner, and it looked like the deadlock was broken. Moments after Maeda found the net, though, VAR inevitably got involved.

Indeed, a ‘foul’ by Celtic centre-back Auston Trusty on an opposition player was spotted:

Daizen Maeda with a stunning volley!

But the goal is disallowed after a VAR check for a foul in the box ❌#STJCEL pic.twitter.com/hfrZX840jJ

— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) September 28, 2024

Upon further inspection, the incident is merely a coming together.

Trusty and his opposite number are running towards each other and in no way mean to collide.

Despite this, referee Don Robertson was told to review the episode on the pitchside VAR monitor.

Robertson swiftly moved to disallow the goal, much to the disbelief of most onlookers.

The decision to rule out Maeda’s fine finish is nonsensical. It was yet another poor decision against Celtic this season, which further casts into doubt the comPetency of Scottish officials.

Although Willie Collum reviews every contentious decision at the end of each month, it is not enough.

A lot of fans seem to be fine with the Head of Referees coming out and explaining things (and don’t get me wrong, it is refreshing), although Scottish Football needs more accurate decisions, not explanations which don’t make a difference.