Brendan Rodgers has no regrets over his criticism of the match officials following Celtic’s defeat at Hearts.
The Hoops boss described referee Don Robertson and VAR John Beaton as “really, really poor” and hit out at “absolutely shocking decision-making” before adding the officiating “cost us” as he questioned several incidents at Tynecastle Park.
He now faces a Scottish Football Association disciplinary hearing after being accused of breaching rule 72, which stipulates that managers – as well as other players and staff – cannot “indicate bias or incompetence” regarding match officials during interviews.
Rodgers’ hearing will take place on March 28 and a two-game ban would see him miss the trips to Livingston (March 31) and Rangers (April 7), both live on Sky Sports. However, the panel do have options to clear him or partially clear him of the charge.
When asked if he had any regrets, he said: “No, not at all. My job is to defend the team, defend the club and that’s what we will do in this case.
“We will defend it vigorously and when the date comes we will go from there. I will sit down with the club and the lawyers and we will look at it from there.”
What decisions angered Rodgers?
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Highlights from the Scottish Premiership match between Hearts and Celtic
Celtic were awarded a penalty after Alex Cochrane’s barge on Hyun-Jun Yang, then, minutes after Adam Idah’s spot-kick was saved, Yang was shown a red card following a VAR check for a high boot on Cochrane.
That sending-off angered Rodgers and was the subject of an unsuccessful appeal by Celtic, while Rodgers also said it was “absolutely shocking” that Hearts were awarded a penalty for Tomoki Iwata’s handball after referee Don Robertson went for a second look at the VAR monitor.
What did Rodgers say?
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Rodgers slammed the decisions made during his side’s defeat at Hearts
Speaking to Sky Sports following the defeat at Tynecastle Park, Rodgers said:
“I never like to comment on officials but that cost us today. The officiating from on-field to John Beaton being on VAR, was really poor.
“I look at the first incident [red card] and if you put a still on that it looks dangerous, but that’s not the reality of the move.
“There’s no force there, the ball’s popped up. It’s a booking. That’s really disappointing to go down to 10 men for that but to receive a penalty against us – wow, that was even worse.
“If you watch the incident again, Tomoki’s jumped, he’s on his way down and he’s not looking as he’s been nudged a little bit which then pushes his arm out.
“If that’s a penalty then you will have penalties in every single game, every single week.
“That is just absolutely shocking decision-making and I feel really disappointed for our players and our supporters.
“You’ll have to ask John Beaton in VAR what he’s seeing. If he’s seeing that as dangerous play then seeing that as handball then he’s probably seeing something different to everyone else, unless you’re connected with Hearts of course!
“I just think they’re seeing a different game and it’s incidents like that is why referees and officials get challenged because that’s not seeing the game.”
Ref Watch verdict
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Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher assesses Celtic’s incident-packed 2-0 defeat against Hearts at Tynecastle Park
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher dissected the flashpoints with Sky Sports pundits Sue Smith and Stephen Warnock.
‘Iwata handball harsh – but officials are consistent’
INCIDENT: Following a lengthy VAR review, Hearts were awarded a penalty against Celtic when the ball came down onto the arm of Tomoki Iwata as he rose amid a cluster of bodies to try to head the ball out of his box.
DERMOT SAYS: “I think it’s harsh but we’ve seen this in the Scottish league all season. The one thing they’ve been consistent about, any incident like that has been penalised. Harsh, very unlucky, but to their credit, every single one like that they’ve given.”
STEPHEN WARNOCK SAYS: “That’s a bad decision.”
SUE SMITH SAYS: “I don’t know what he’s supposed to do with his arm. I don’t like that decision at all.”
‘Yang red harsh but correct’
INCIDENT: Celtic’s Hyun-Jun Yang was sent off for a high boot on Alex Cochrane.
DERMOT SAYS: “I think the player is unlucky but it is a red card. He has no idea where the player is, he’s genuinely going for the ball but if you catch a player in the face with your studs it’s going to be a red card.”
STEPHEN WARNOCK SAYS: “Red? No.”
‘Celtic penalty should have been a Hearts free-kick!’
INCIDENT: Celtic are awarded a penalty for Alex Cochrane’s challenge on Hyun-Jun Yang.
DERMOT SAYS: “Extremely harsh. I thought it was a foul the other way. Cochrane was in front so I find it hard to see how he commits a foul. The Celtic player goes into Cochrane.”
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