Paulo Bernardo thought he’d given Celtic the lead against Aberdeen earlier this evening when his corner soared into the back of the net.
Referee Don Robertson, however, blew his whistle early to rule out the first-half “opener” for a foul inside the area.
Daizen Maeda was adjudged to have made unacceptable contact with goalkeeper Ross Doohan who attempted a punch at the ball only to see it nestle into the corner.
But by this time, whistler Robertson had called for a foul and the goal was chalked off without complaint.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ punditry duties, Neil Lennon had his say on the situation and he claimed it was the right decision from the ref to disallow the Celtic opener.
And he cited the laws of the game in his reasoning for the decision being spot on while criticising Maeda for the challenge on Doohan – one the Northern Irishman claims the winger did not need to make.
Asked by presenter Eilidh Barbour if it was the correct call, and if Robertson blew ‘rightly or wrongly’, Lennon said: “Rightly and the referee blew early, before the ball went in the net.
Neil Lennon says ref Don Robertson was right to rule out Celtic’s goal
You hear the whistle go, it’s gone already and the referee made the decision early.
“When you look at it again, I agree with Chris (Sutton) on commentary, Maeda doesn’t have to go and make contact with the goalkeeper.
“He just needs to stand his ground and nine times out of 10 they’re given as a free-kick against the goalkeeper, whether us old yins think it’s soft or not. It’s the rules of the game.
Chris Sutton agreed with Lennon and claimed goalkeepers are ‘overprotected’
“Maeda doesn’t need to back into him. Just stand his ground and try to put the goalkeeper off.
VAR officials were called into action on the infringement but did not take long to come to the conclusion that Robertson was correct with his on-field whistle.
Lennon’s teammate, Chris Sutton, had also claimed it was the right decision but insisted goalies continue to be overprotected.
He said on comms: “I think Maeda interferes and he doesn’t need to. There’s not a lot in that at all, I think it’s weak goalkeeping. He doesn’t want to come for that.
“The fact that Don Robertson has already awarded a free-kick, he says he’s seen enough of a foul, but I’ll tell you what… goalkeepers are overprotected.”
Reo Hatate would be the man to win the game for Celts with a left-foot volley on 78 minutes.
It came, finally, after Doohan had kept out Celtic’s strikers with some smart stops.
