Brendan Rodgers angry as officials turn football into a COMPUTER GAME with VAR.
as Celtic coach expresses disappointment over Daizen Maeda’s Champions League red card against Atletico Madrid
Celtic suffer a humiliating 6-0 defeat and Daizen Maeda receives a red card Their Champions League hopes are dashed with just one point after four games Chris Sutton: ‘How my son almost died ‘ – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Brendan Rodgers claims officials are turning football into a video game with VAR, as the Celtic manager was angered by Daizen Maeda’s red card in the humiliating 6-0 loss to Atletico Madrid.
Latest addition to Group E, Antoine Antoine’s lack of an early goal was further aggravated when Maeda received a yellow card that changed to red for a collision with Mario Hermoso in the 22nd minute after VAR intervention.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone and a group of teammates rushed out of the technical area, causing Rodgers to react angrily when the Dutch referee was called to the pitchside monitor.
Rodgers, who was penalized for dissent, when asked whether the reaction of the bench influenced the referee’s decision, replied: “Yes, no doubt about it.
‘I don’t want to get involved with civil servants, you must accept the decision.
But now it’s more like a video game, with constant staring at the screen.
When the referee came to see the incident, it did not reflect the true situation.
It is a motionless person, raising his leg, immediately planting a seed in the referee’s direction and from there the effect is to send the player off the field.
Rodgers believes the referee’s frozen view of Maeda on the Hermoso field made the situation worse than it actually was.
“Obviously we’re very, very disappointed.
For us, playing 11 v 11 with their quality is always a challenge.
‘We had this guy sent off early in the game, when we started well, looked confident and ready to fight the game.
‘But really disappointed with the expulsion.
When we look at the images the referee sees, they are not representative of the actual challenge.
“Both players were touching toes and kicking each other and for us to lose one because of that was really tough.
” Despite Rodgers’ protests, Celtic were torn apart with braces from Griezman and Alvaro Morata and goals from Samuel Lino and Saul Niguez.
Currently five points behind third-placed Feyenoord, they must beat Lazio and the Dutch side in their final two matches – while relying on Atletico’s favor – to have any hope of extending their European journey.
Their Europeans arrived after Christmas.
Admitting that the Champions League once again exposed the “huge gap” between Celtic and Europe’s elite, Rodgers added: “These players have given it all, they are pushing the limit, 11 v 11, then 10.
They gave everything in the game, but their quality far exceeded our efforts.
Leave a Reply