The Celtic manager has definitely changed his stance from his early call against Rangers, as he risks an SFA charge for remarks he made regarding VAR.
When Rangers forward Cyriel Dessers robbed faltering Celtic defender Gustaf Lagerbielke back in September of last year, refereeing technology saved his blushes.
The large Nigerian striker then found Kemar Roofe, who gave a wild Ibrox a wild celebration with the game’s first goal before a VAR review resulted in the goal being disallowed.
In hindsight, it was a pretty bold move for the Celtic defender, who seemed to have caught the Rangers attacker before tumbling to the ground from being outmuscled.
Against Rangers, Brendan Rodgers defended VAR
The Rangers were jeering their now-former manager Michael Beale as Celtic went on to win the match 1-0, and it was a pivotal point in the game.
Brendan Rodgers was a little less irrational in his post-game remarks regarding the referees than he had been after Celtic’s 2-0 loss to Hearts.
After the game, Rodgers said to BBC Sport, “Rangers will probably say it was never a foul.” “I believe that the referees, who have sufficient officials examining it, clearly decided that it was that.”
This stands in stark contrast to the statements made by the Celtic manager following the two instances in which VAR interfered against Hearts, resulting in the disputed handball penalty award for Hearts and Yang’s now-upheld red card.
Playing the classic “for the good of the game” card, the Celtic manager called the referees “incompetent” and went on to say that football is now being refereed “off the pitch.”
Ibrox crowd: is the Celtic boss making his way to a seat?
Brendan, please save us from the holier-than-thou rhetoric.
VAR can only be a significant issue when rulings go against Celtic, but fortunately, the football gods have a way of balancing these things out over the course of a season.
This is not to argue that the referee erred in making these rulings against Celtic, but it does imply that you cannot be taken seriously if you can justify a point of concern in one area but not another.
Undoubtedly, such partiality is inherent in the fandom; nonetheless, managers should take note of the fact that Brendan Rodgers might be seated in the stands when his team plays Rangers next month.
Football karma, as previously indicated, might also be fully operational in this case, as the Celtic manager has been charged with “dog-whistling” to pro-Rangers plots in order to divert attention away from his own failings.
