Celtic 0–2 Braga: VAR Controversy and Fan Unrest as Hoops Falter Again
Celtic’s Europa League campaign suffered another major setback as they slumped to a 2-0 home defeat against Sporting Braga in a night marked by controversy, poor goalkeeping, and renewed protests from supporters.
Ricardo Horta opened the scoring for the visitors with a speculative long-range strike that Kasper Schmeichel failed to deal with, before Gabri Martinez added a late second to seal the win.
But the main talking point came midway through the second half, when Kelechi Iheanacho thought he had levelled for Celtic—only for VAR to rule the goal out for handball without the referee being invited to review the incident himself.
“I presume there’s a bad Wi-Fi connection because that can be the only reason we’re not just getting on with this game at 1-1,” goalkeeper Joe Hart said on TNT commentary duty. “Ball comes up. No touch, hits his cheek. I am flabbergasted.”
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers was equally incensed:
“From every angle it clearly hits his face. He’s gone through, finished brilliantly, and that’s a massive moment in the game for us. I can’t understand why the referee isn’t sent to the monitor. At 1-1 the whole momentum changes.”
The decision came after a much-improved second-half display from Rodgers’ side. Having switched to a back three at the break, Celtic created chances through Daizen Maeda and Iheanacho, while defenders Liam Scales and Kieran Tierney produced crucial interventions at the other end. But their lack of cutting edge once again proved costly, a recurring theme this season.
Braga, buoyed by their win over Feyenoord last week, punished Celtic’s wastefulness. Horta’s opener had already exposed Schmeichel’s hesitancy, with Paulo Bernardo slow to close him down before the Dane clawed the dipping shot into his own net. Martinez then bundled home a scrappy second with ten minutes left, prompting many home fans to head for the exits before the final whistle.
Chants of “All Celtic fans against the board” and calls for chairman Peter Lawwell to resign rang out as boos cascaded around Parkhead at full-time. The protests, postponed at kick-off, were reignited by the combination of poor performance and another blank in front of goal.
Rodgers admitted his side’s struggles in attack have now become a serious problem:
“We’re in a spell where we’re not scoring goals. Last season we broke scoring records, now we’re not taking chances.
That’s on me to find the solutions. We need to be more aggressive in the final third.”
Celtic’s misfiring frontline has already cost them dearly—failing to score against Kairat Almaty ended their Champions League hopes, and a blank against Hibs saw them surrender top spot in the Premiership. Now, after firing blanks against Braga, their chances of progressing from the Europa League group stage are in jeopardy just two games in.
As boos echoed around Celtic Park and thousands streamed out early, the discontent was as loud a message as the scoreline: the problems run deeper than a single VAR call.
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