Martin O’Neill was left frustrated by VAR after Celtic had two goals ruled out during their 2-1 win over St Mirren in Paisley.
Shim Mheuka then had what looked like a late third chalked off in stoppage time after another VAR intervention.
Speaking after the match, O’Neill admitted the result softened his frustration.
He said: (TCW), “Well I would probably be more unhappy about it if we had not won the game. Is that right? It wasn’t working properly?”
When it was put to him that the offside lines may not have been properly calibrated, O’Neill replied: “Oh we’re not going back to that, it was the same last season as well, I’ve never seen so many cricket lines in my life.”
The Celtic manager also pointed to the wider problem VAR creates for those on the touchline.
“You just cannot celebrate. It’s the first thing you think.
“I thought that when we scored, or thought we’d scored the goal in the first half, I thought well, it felt as if Yang, when he’s had the shot, that if it’s coming off it must be somebody rushing in to put the ball in the net. And even I thought that must be a goal. And then for it to be ruled offside.
“So you cannot celebrate. That goes for every manager, every coaching staff. You just can’t do it until it’s finally decided.”
Duran’s first-half effort was the more costly of the two at the time, with Celtic still trailing 1-0 when it was disallowed.
O’Neill’s frustration was aimed at how difficult VAR now makes it to react naturally to a goal. Both Duran and Mheuka had celebrations cut short by long checks, and the Celtic manager was left waiting for confirmation before knowing whether either effort would stand.
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