Brendan Rodgers appeared to take a swipe at the officials after Celtic lost to Lazio in Parkhead last night.
The Celtic manager was asked what he thought of the refereeing and official’s performance after a few contentious decisions went unpunished.
Rodgers said [TNT Sports], “They’re not so good. I think there’s a lot you’re seeing now and Europe is a little bit more precious than even in the domestic game.
“But yeah, watching the Champions League games last night and obviously tonight, some strange decisions to be honest.
“But listen, I’ll focus more on the performance. And the performance overall did merit to get something from the game and we did deserve something. We didn’t quite get that but we’ll fight another day.”
In my opinion, the refereeing performance was not the best. There should have been a red card for a clear punch/forearm smash on Hatate in the first half.
The high boot on Matt O’Riley was worthy of a yellow. Many would argue that it deserved a red but for me, that would have been harsh.
In the cold light of day, Celtic were just not good enough to get the victory that they so needed to get their Champions League going.
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Another goal conceded from a set-piece in the first half follows up what we saw in Feyenoord two weeks ago in Rotterdam.
And Cameron Carter-Vickers losing possession in the final minutes was symptomatic of bringing on a defender who has not played a competitive game since recovering from a hamstring injury.
The Celtic players will learn from this. Not seeing out the game in the final minutes is a harsh lesson to learn but it is one that the Hoops have delivered to countless opponents before.
Now that they have tasted the bitterness it brings, let’s hope they take steps to ensure that this never happens again. Because if it does, they can kiss European football after Christmas goodbye.
In other news, ‘Sickening’: Chris Sutton’s instant reaction after Celtic lose to Lazio tonight