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Celtic hero Daizen Maeda’s controversial no-goal decision vs Hibs analysed as KMI panel reveal verdict
Brendan Rodgers was furious with the call
DAZIEN MAEDA found the net against Hibs but his goal couldn't prevent Celtic slumping to their second defeat of 2025.
But the Japanese frontman believed he had salvaged at least a point for the Hoops at Easter Road - only for his late equaliser to be ruled out following a VAR check.
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Maeda, 27, made it level in Leith after Alistair Johnston picked him out with a pinpoint pass in the box just four minutes after Celtic's first goal.
Maeda's second was initially awarded before being controversially ruled out after VAR ruled the ball went out of play in the build-up.
The ball allegedly crossed the line and went out for a goal-kick when Johnston played the pass.
Hoops players protested the decision at the time and Brendan Rodgers took aim at VAR after the game, demanding proof the ball had in actual fact went out of play.
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He claimed VAR official Alan Muir GUESSED the decision.
The manager was backed by pundits over the bizarre incident, with Neil Lennon, Alan Hutton and Marvin Bartley in agreement the goal shouldn't have been awarded without factual evidence.
Footage and pictures of the moment have been circulating on social media and no conclusive image has been found.
And the Scottish FA's Key Match Incidents panel has ruled VAR's decision to overturn both the on-field referee and linesman's call as the INCORRECT one.
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It wasn't a unanimous vote between the experts though as one individual believed the final decision was correct, while four voted against.
Their assessment read: "The majority (4:1) of the panel deemed the on-field decision of goal to be correct.
"They felt the factual VAR intervention for the ball being out of play was incorrect.
"One panel member felt VAR was correct to intervene as they believed one of the angles showed the ball out of play."
The difficulty rating of the incident was marked just one out of five.
That sees it graded as "a fairly simple decision for a select group official, though with more factors to consider."
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