Celtic’s 4–0 victory over Dundee United on Saturday looked convincing on the scoreboard, but not everyone was satisfied with the standard of officiating, particularly a contentious incident involving new signing Julian Araujo early in the first half.
The right-back, making his first start in a Celtic shirt, flew into a very forceful challenge on United wing-back Will Ferry as part of an intense press.
The tackle was rash and, had the referee or VAR stepped in appropriately, many believed a red card would have been the correct outcome.
Instead, Araujo escaped with just a yellow card, much to the astonishment of United manager Jim Goodwin, who labelled the challenge “out of control” after the match and admitted he felt a red card should have been shown.
The Refs View podcast duo, Des Roache and Steve Conroy, were unsparing in their criticism on social media following the final whistle.
Their post on X (formerly Twitter) cut straight to the chase:
“This is as clear a Red Card as ever you will see. Nick didn’t have a great view but what is the sole raison d’être of VAR — to get things correct. This is nothing less than shocking from the VAR. However, SFA sanction these appointees.”
Put simply, the hosts argued that even if the on-field referee had a poor sightline, the entire purpose of VAR is to rectify precisely these types of mistakes, and failing to do so amounted to a major error.
While Celtic’s win was ultimately comfortable, the incident is far from insignificant, as an early dismissal could have completely altered the contest. Had Araujo been sent off in the opening stages, the momentum may well have swung away from the Hoops.
VAR would have reviewed the challenge in the background but evidently saw no reason to advise Walsh to take another look.