Friday night’s VAR Review was meant to give Celtic supporters an insight into why Camilo Durán’s goal against St Mirren was ruled out as well as other decisions that have not favoured Celtic in recent weeks.
It also revealed Benjamin Nygren doing his best to make the referee’s job that little bit harder.
The programme played the officials’ audio from the incident at St Mirren Park, with the referee listening to the VAR team as they worked through the offside call which eventually wiped out Durán’s effort.
While all that is going on, Nygren can be heard in the referee’s ear.
The official Ryan Lee eventually responds: “Let’s not fall out, Benji.” and he repeats it.
It is a brilliant little moment, not least because Nygren is probably not the first Celtic player you would have down as the man most likely to hassle a referee during a VAR check.
He has generally come across as one of the calmer characters in the squad. You’re more likely to see him try to whip up the crowd with his arm gestures rather than needle the ref.
Yet there he was, apparently making his feelings known while the referee was trying to listen to VAR telling him Durán’s goal was offside.
You can almost hear the referee trying to keep one ear on the VAR team and the other on Nygren.
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Eventually, enough was enough.
“Let’s not fall out, Benji.”
There was, of course, a far more serious reason Celtic fans were interested in the programme.
Durán’s disallowed goal was one of two Hoops efforts chalked off at St Mirren Park, with both decisions causing debate after the game.
Friday’s show was there to explain the process behind those calls and let supporters hear how the officials reached their decisions.
Whether Celtic fans were convinced by the explanations is another matter.
But amid all the talk of lines and offsides, the audio also offered a rare glimpse into the constant back and forth between players and referees.
Nygren clearly was not going to stand quietly while Celtic had a goal taken away.
The Swede came off the bench in Celtic’s midweek game against St Johnstone and is expected to slot right back into the starting XI for the League Cup quarter final at ibrox on Sunday where no away fans will be in attendance. Benj
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