Celtic manager left fuming with lack of VAR and…

Celtic manager left fuming with lack of VAR and 'unbelievable' decisions in Liverpool legends charity match

Paul Lambert could not hide his frustration at refereeing decisions after Celtic Legends were defeated 2-0 by Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.

The Reds took the lead after Steven Gerrard's first half penalty and doubled their lead only 40 seconds after the restart, Mark Gonzalez firing into the bottom left corner to punish the visitors' lapse in concentration.

Celtic could well have found a way back into the contest, however, having seen two goals ruled out and a late penalty appeal turned down.

The Hoops' initial effort to be chalked off was down to an offside call by an assistant referee, resulting in goalscorer Darren O'Dea booting the ball away in frustration after spotting the linesman's flag raised. Celtic later looked to have benefitted from a Ragnar Klavan own goal, only for it to be judged Emilio Izaguirre's cross had gone out of play before an error of misjudgement inside the penalty box from one of Liverpool's standout performers.

There was then further frustration with two minutes to play when the away side could not believe Fabio Aurelio was not penalised after appearing to handle the ball inside the penalty area. While proceeds raised from the game will support the brilliant work being done by the Celtic Foundation, Forever Reds and a range of programmes delivered by the LFC Foundation, Lambert was nonetheless disappointed with the officiating of match officials.

"At one point I thought Michael Jordan was out there playing," he joked of his team's late penalty claim. "The handball? Everybody saw that. You didn’t need VAR for that, Shaquille O'Neal [former basketball player] would have been proud of that jump. It was just an unbelievable decision.

"The offside goal, I don’t know how a ball can go out the pitch and then hit the front of the bar?" He questioned in respect of Izaguirre's ball that led to Klavan turning into his own net. "Unless there was a hurricane in that goalmouth, I don’t know? I think some decisions went against them."

Adopting a more relaxed tone, Lambert added: “The guys worked so hard and played really well. They are ex-sportsmen so will always have that competitive edge with them. It was a great atmosphere, the Celtic fans were outstanding. It was a fitting game for a great cause."

Also in the room with the 53-year-old was ex-Celtic and Aston Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov, who took the difficult decision to retire from football in 2013 having been diagnosed with leukaemia one year earlier. Describing how it felt to be part of the action at Anfield, a ground he played at five times during his playing career, the Bulgarian said: “It was great, playing at Anfield against Liverpool. They [Celtic and Liverpool] are two unique clubs with great fanbases. It was really competitive and it was a great honour. They managed to win the game, but we had a good go. Today was about having fun and people enjoying it.

"Football was taken away from me so, for me to have the opportunity to play in games like that in front of 50,000 people, I appreciate it even more. I know how important it is to be back at Anfield after so many years. I cherish every moment of it."

On how he found shaping up against Steven Gerrard in midfield once again, Petrov concluded: “Good. We had many battles. In the Premier League, I played many times against him. You can see his class. If you give him space, he will hurt you. That’s what happened today. He is a leader and it’s always good to face good players.”

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