On another night, Celtic could have played out a 3-3 draw with Bayern Munich at Parkhead.
From Nicolas Kuhn’s early disallowed curling effort to Daizen Maeda’s missed open goal, the Hoops had their chances in a narrow 2-1 Champions League defeat to the Bundesliga giants.
A key moment came when Arne Engels went down after Dayot Upamecano stepped on his toes. VAR reviewed the incident extensively and advised referee Jesus Gil Manzano to check the monitor. However, after a lengthy review, the official ruled out a penalty, determining that Upamecano had played the ball before the follow-through.
Former Scottish FA referees Des Roache and Steve Conroy have now weighed in, arguing that Celtic should have been awarded a penalty.
“That’s a penalty in our view,” they stated on their X account, The Ref’s View. “Winning the ball first doesn’t negate a foul—stamping on someone’s foot isn’t a natural football motion. We’ve seen similar incidents given this season; if it happened in midfield, it would be a foul.”
Despite the controversy, the referee decided against the spot-kick, denying Celtic a chance to equalize earlier in the match.
Celtic’s tie with Bayern remains alive ahead of the return leg at the Allianz Arena. Maeda eventually pulled one back with a header, courtesy of an excellent delivery from Yang inside the six-yard box.
Pundits were split on the penalty decision. Former Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart supported the referee’s call, citing Upamecano’s initial touch as a key factor spotted by VAR. However, Pat Nevin disagreed, insisting it should have been given as a foul.
