Martin O’Neill blasted VAR Grant Irvine as ten-man Celtic’s title hopes were dealt a hammer blow in controversial circumstances.
The Parkhead side were shellshocked after Kai Andrews’ 87th-minute goal secured a 2-1 win for Hibs in Glasgow.
It left Celtic six points behind Premiership leaders Hearts and two adrift of Rangers, who were held 2-2 at Livingston.
Celtic had pulled level after Benjamin Nygren cancelled out Felix Passlack’s opener, and were pressing for a winner when Auston Trusty was sent off for striking out at Jamie McGrath at a corner with 16 minutes remaining.
Referee Matthew MacDermid was called to the monitor by Irvine on that occasion but wasn’t urged to take a second look moments later when Liam Scales was pulled to the ground in the box by Jack Iredale.
Clearly angered by what he saw as a lack of consistency, O’Neill said: ‘I’ve just had a word with the referee. He said he was going to have a word with the two players (Trusty and McGrath), then VAR intervened and said it was violent conduct.’
Martin O’Neill was angry with the match officials during his team’s 2-1 defeat by Hibs
Celtic defender Auston Trusty is sent off after an incident with Hibs midfielder Jamie McGrath
Celtic were frustrated to get no penalty after Jack Iredale and Liam Scales clashed in the box
On the non-award of the spot kick involving Scales, O’Neill added: ‘The referee’s words were he didn’t hold on to him long enough, but it seems a wee bit strange. He’s grabbing someone’s shirt as he’s making a move to get the ball. Some years ago, it was a penalty. But VAR, they’ve passed that one on.’
While O’Neill felt wronged over the Scales incident, he didn’t appear to have too much of an issue with Trusty’s dismissal. The American pulled McGrath’s arm with one hand and struck down on it with the other.
‘I’ve spoken to him,’ he said. ‘At the end (of the day) you can’t do this if that’s the rules now. It doesn’t matter if someone is holding on to you in an attempt to break away. You can’t thrust in the manner he did to get away.’
Celtic lost an appeal over Trusty’s dismissal at Tynecastle earlier this year. They seem unlikely to go back to the SFA this time, meaning the player is set to miss the trip to Ibrox on Sunday.
‘Personally, I wouldn’t have thought so,’ O’Neill said. ‘The referee has explained to me that’s what VAR said. It was violent conduct so I don’t think anyone will change their minds.’
Asked about his first domestic defeat, the 73-year-old manager added: ‘It’s tough, it’s a setback. We are six points behind Hearts. Domestically, it’s a tough ask for us, but we’re still there fighting.
‘This game was always going to be difficult. Hibs are a fine side and they were unlucky not to get anything in the derby against Hearts. You saw Livingston get a result against Rangers so the games are difficult.
‘It’s a game we could and – on the balance of play – maybe should have won. We had a lot of possession and played a lot of good stuff, but possession doesn’t win it.’
Hibs boss David Gray felt that a first win at Celtic Park in 16 years proved his side are giving everything between now and the end of the season.
The victory cut the gap to high-flying Motherwell to five points, with the Easter Road men now on a run of just one defeat in five matches.
‘You have to truly believe you can do it,’ said Gray of his team’s win. ‘It took the complete performance. We had to defend and soak up pressure to do that. I was disappointed with the goal we conceded because that was avoidable but, apart from that, my goalie didn’t have many big saves.’
Gray felt Trusty’s dismissal was justified, saying: ‘I think the red, you can’t do that. You can’t lift your hands with that aggression. That’s violent conduct and a clear and obvious red. Jamie has an issue with his shoulder and almost put his out, so it shows how hard he’s hit him.’
On the Scales claim, he added: ‘The penalty, I’ve seen it from one angle. There was a coming together. He goes down. If it gets given on the field, it probably doesn’t get overturned. It went with us on the day. They’d probably gone against us previously.’