NafisaCeltic Park erupted on Sunday afternoon as Martin O’Neill’s side produced one of their biggest performances of the season to beat Rangers 3-1 in a dramatic Old Firm derby that may ultimately define the Scottish Premiership title race.
The atmosphere in the east end was already electric before kick-off after Hearts dropped points against Motherwell less than 24 hours earlier, opening the door again for Celtic to force themselves right back into contention.
Rangers knew the stakes were just as massive.
Danny Rohl’s side arrived at Parkhead needing a result to keep their fading hopes alive of finishing second and securing a route into next season’s Champions League qualifiers. Early on, they looked ready for the fight too.
The visitors stunned Celtic inside the opening stages when Youssef Chermiti fired Rangers ahead after a sharp attacking move caught the home side cold. For a brief spell, Rangers looked aggressive, organised and capable of silencing Parkhead.
But the entire momentum of the match shifted midway through the first half.
Celtic equalised through Yang Hyun-jun after a flowing move involving Luke McCowan and Arne Engels carved Rangers open down the right side. Engels drilled the ball across goal before Yang calmly swept home beyond Jack Butland.
Immediately though, Rangers players surrounded referee Nick Walsh.
Attention quickly turned towards Benjamin Nygren, who appeared to be standing in an offside position close to Butland as the shot came in. VAR official John Beaton reviewed the incident from Clydesdale House while Celtic Park waited nervously.
Eventually, the goal was given.
That decision instantly sparked fury among Rangers supporters both inside the stadium and online.
The controversy only grew stronger after full-time once former referees and pundits began analysing the footage repeatedly across television and social media. Former FIFA referee Keith Hackett later admitted he was “surprised” the goal stood at all.
Hackett told Football Insider: “I really am surprised this goal was allowed to stand.
“It appeared to me that there was a Celtic player in an offside position in the line of the vision of the goalkeeper, and therefore interfering with play, interfering with his opponent. Goal should not stand.”
Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin also admitted that under the written laws of the game, Rangers had a genuine argument.
Still, Celtic grew stronger after the equaliser.
Callum McGregor began dictating possession, Kieran Tierney repeatedly drove Rangers backwards down the left flank and Daizen Maeda became impossible to contain once space started opening up behind the visitors’ defence.
The second major controversy then arrived before half-time.
Alistair Johnston flew into a challenge on Mikey Moore during a heated spell of the game. Nick Walsh produced a yellow card immediately, but Rangers players demanded a red while VAR again chose not to intervene.
Replays showed Johnston catching Moore high on the ankle with his follow through, leading to another wave of outrage after the match.
Michael Stewart described the VAR handling as “terrible”, while Kris Boyd insisted it was a “red card all day long” after watching the replay back in the Sky Sports studio.
Keith Hackett later went even further.
He told Football Insider: “The Celtic player should have received a red card for this Serious Foul Play challenge.
“On first viewing, it was a yellow, but on the angle shown, it is excessive force, endangering the safety of the opponent.”
Despite all the controversy, Rangers still had opportunities to stay in the match.
Instead, Celtic completely overwhelmed them after the interval.
Maeda first turned home brilliantly from close range after another dangerous delivery from Tierney before producing the moment of the afternoon with a sensational overhead kick that flew beyond the stranded Butland and into the top corner.
Parkhead exploded.
Rangers looked mentally shattered from that point onwards as Celtic comfortably saw out the final stages to secure a massive derby victory.
But in the hours after full-time, attention increasingly moved away from Celtic’s performance and towards the officiating.
Across social media, some furious Rangers supporters even began questioning whether Celtic could face punishment over the VAR controversy, with outrageous claims spreading online suggesting points deductions could somehow follow if the decisions were officially judged incorrect.
The reality, however, is very different.
No points deduction is possible.
Even if refereeing mistakes are later acknowledged by pundits, former referees or even the SFA’s own KMI panel, Scottish football rules do not allow league points to be removed because of incorrect officiating decisions during matches.
Points deductions are only handed out for serious disciplinary or administrative breaches such as financial misconduct, fielding ineligible players or major supporter trouble.
VAR errors, controversial refereeing calls and disputed decisions simply do not fall into that category.
That will not ease the anger among Rangers supporters after a derby defeat carrying such enormous consequences.
For many of them, Sunday will feel like the afternoon where both the match and their entire season slipped away amid huge controversy at Celtic Park.
Nafisa
