Celtic appeal against Yang Hyun-jun red and express ‘serious concerns’ to SFA

Yang was first booked for catching Alex Cochrane with a high boot, but after a VAR review, he was sent out in the 16th minute.In addition to filing an appeal against Yang Hyun-jun’s red card, Celtic has expressed “serious concerns” in a letter to the Scottish Football Association on the officiating during their 2-0 loss to Hearts.

Yang was first booked for catching Alex Cochrane with a high boot, but after a VAR review, he was sent out.

Penalties were given to both teams in Sunday’s thrilling Premiership match at Tynecastle.

Celtic said in a statement that they will be appealing the red card and that they had written to the SFA expressing their severe concerns about the choices taken during the match and the usage of VAR.

“As we have previously stated, Celtic has been collaborating with the football authorities to raise the bar for officiating and VAR usage in Scotland, both of which are clearly in the best interests of the game as a whole.”

Kilmarnock has also filed an appeal against Lewis Mayo’s red card for pulling down Scott Tiffoney, the attacker for Dundee.

A fast-track panel appointed by the SFA will hear both appeals on Tuesday.

Even though Rangers and Celtic suffered defeats over the course of a thrilling weekend in the Premiership, the main topics of conversation were match officials and VAR.

Several managers expressed their dissatisfaction with match officials, including Brendan Rodgers of Celtic. The managers’ representation organisation responded on Monday to criticism it believes is growing “much more frequent, disproportionate, and personalised.”

In particular, Rodgers charged that video assistant John Beaton and referee Don Robertson were “really poor officiating.”

when a VAR review, Rodgers believed Tomoki Iwata was unfairly punished for a handball in the box, while Hearts disagreed that they should have given up an early penalty that Adam Idah missed when Yang went down after colliding with Cochrane.

Beaton’s VAR involvement on the red card, according to Rodgers, was “incredible,” and the penalty call was “worse.”

“I try to respect decisions and give the benefit of the doubt,” he continued, “but when I see that level of—well, I can’t really use—incompetence, that’s when I get concerned about the game.”

The SFA forbids criticising match officials in a way that could “indicate bias or incompetence,” thus the Celtic manager may face disciplinary punishment.

Rangers manager Philippe Clement said that Motherwell player and match winner Dan Casey had “kicked McCausland off the pitch” for his challenge; Neil Warnock, the manager of Aberdeen, called VAR a “disgrace” after his team gave up a late penalty against St Mirren.

The manager of Killie, Derek McInnes, was perplexed as to why Mayo’s red card was not reviewed by referee Colin Steven on the monitor.

He continued, saying, “They get involved when they shouldn’t and don’t get involved where they should.” “It just makes me laugh so much.”

At a Viaplay media event on Monday, former Rangers manager Graeme Souness and former Celtic manager Neil Lennon both delivered harsh critiques of Scotland’s match officials.
Lennon stated, “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with VAR; it’s the people who make the decisions.”

“The referees are just not very good,” Souness remarked. VAR exacerbates the issue and exposes them.

“You have the opportunity to examine something repeatedly and from several perspectives, but you continue to make the incorrect decision. They are simply embarrassed by VAR.

The Scottish Senior Football Referees’ Association issued a statement in response to the criticism, stating that they were “extremely disappointed and concerned by another weekend of targeted and personalised criticism of its members.”

“Over the course of this season, it has become too easy for managers and clubs to turn the focus – and consequent fan ire – on to match officials, often to deflect from team performance and results,” the statement to the PA news agency continued.

“We understand the significance of games, particularly as we approach the pivotal time of the season that will determine the championship, European and top-six spots, as well as play-off and relegation issues.

But match officials should be free to perform their jobs without worrying about how it would affect their personal life, their personal safety, or their families’ safety and security.

“It is unfortunate that criticism, which we all understand is a necessary component of the game for officials, coaches, and players, has increased significantly in frequency, excessive severity, and personalisation towards our members.

“It is the duty of every individual participating in Scottish football to act in a polite and professional manner and to be aware of the consequences of their actions.”

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