Celtic manager Martin O’Neill labelled Reo Hatate’s second yellow card against Bologna as “harmless,” insisting the decision proved costly in the Europa League draw.
Hatate was dismissed shortly after giving Celtic the lead, picking up two yellow cards in quick succession and leaving his side to play more than an hour with ten men. Although Auston Trusty doubled Celtic’s advantage before the break, Bologna mounted sustained pressure in the second half and eventually fought back to earn a draw.
Looking back on the incident, O’Neill admitted he had not fully seen it at the time but was unconvinced it warranted a sending-off.
“I’ve watched it again and I thought it was very innocuous,” O’Neill said. “I still believe that. I don’t think Reo intended to foul anyone. He was being held initially and reacted a bit petulantly, but that wasn’t really the issue.
“It was given for stamping on the foot, but I believe that was completely accidental. That said, once you’ve just been booked, you need to be more cautious — especially when the ball looked like it was heading out of play anyway. It’s incredibly frustrating.”
O’Neill revealed that Hatate apologised immediately after the incident, adding that the midfielder was clearly remorseful.
“Reo was very apologetic to everyone, and that’s fine,” he said. “But if we’d been able to keep him on the pitch until Bologna started to tire, I genuinely think we would have gone on to win the game.”
Despite the disappointment, O’Neill praised his players’ effort and resilience, particularly late on when fatigue set in.
“It would have been a real shame if we’d lost after what we put into the match,” he said. “The players were exhausted in the final 10 minutes, but they kept battling.”
The Celtic boss added that the result still leaves his side in contention heading into their final group game next week, describing the point as an important one going forward.
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