Brendan Rodgers, the manager of Celtic, expressed his strong and visible frustration with the officiating, expressing particular outrage with the VAR judgments concerning the red card and the penalty given to Hearts. He called the choices “absolutely shocking,” without holding back.
“I think the referee made the correct call on the field, and it’s a yellow card.” McCann mentioned to Sportscene.
It is totally inappropriate to ask him to go look at the monitor again.
“The red card wasn’t supposed to be given out.”
Regarding the Iwata handball, McCann continued, “It’s simply another disastrous weekend for me in terms of choices made by officials, whether they be on the field or off.
“It was a completely incorrect choice. I am aware of the game’s rules and that his arm is separated from his body.
“However, the boy is ignorant of it. It impacted his arm rather obviously, but there was no malicious intent.
It’s interesting to note that revered Hearts history maker Neil McCann, who won the Scottish Cup with the team, supported Rodgers. McCann voiced his questions regarding the validity of the key choices made during the game on Sportscene.
He flatly disagreed with Yang’s red card, saying a yellow card would have been more appropriate and that there was no malicious intent behind the high kick. In addition, McCann criticized the decision-making procedure that resulted in the play review and eventual red card.
McCann called the officials’ decision to award Iwata a penalty an error in judgment. He said that although the ball did strike Iwata’s arm, the player had no intention of controlling it, hence in his opinion, the penalty call was severe.
