Matt O’Riley admits the delays with VAR checks during games are hugely frustrating for Celtic.
Ange Postecoglou’s team have been involved in a variety of incidents since the introduction of the technology to the Scottish game four months ago. Last weekend’s Scottish Cup win over St Mirren brought more hold-ups as on-pitch referee Steven McLean consulted the monitor before awarding a penalty kick against visiting defender Richard Taylor for a handball which also led to a red card for the defender. McLean spoke to the VAR official at length before walking off the pitch to watch a replay.
O’Riley was on the pitch less than 10 minutes when the incident occurred and reckons it’s taking far too long for decisions to be made, which is “not ideal” for Celtic with the way they play. He said: “It is frustrating. It takes a really long time. I don’t know what the average time is but it must be over two or three minutes each time.
“For us it’s not ideal, especially the way we play and the momentum we have when we’re constantly attacking teams, it gives them a breather as well. The way we’re playing, we’re trying to tire teams out, so it’s a bit frustrating in that sense but at the same time everyone has to deal with it.”
The 22-year-old praised St Mirren for going to Celtic Park and having a go in that cup tie, something few teams have done this season. He added: “They made it difficult for us to be fair. They really gave it a good go. Most teams just sit in the box and sit there for 90 minutes but they gave it a go and I respect that. Luckily we broke them down as the game went on.”
O’Riley netted his first club goal in nine months during the victory over Saints and is hoping to follow it up against Aberdeen on Saturday. His first Celtic goal came against the Dons over a year ago and he wants a repeat as he tries to nail down a starting spot against Rangers in next weekend’s Viaplay Cup Final.
The midfielder was speaking at a Celtic fan event in Belfast and is hoping to return to the city later this year with Denmark for their Euro 2024 qualifier with Northern Ireland. O’Riley switched international allegiances from England last year and has featured for Denmark’s U21 side, scoring against Turkey in a European Championship qualifier last summer. But he still hasn’t been called up to the senior team.
Although the London native admits it’s always an aim to get into Kasper Hjulmand’s squad, he insists Celtic are his priority for now. O’Riley said: “It’s always an aim but that only comes if I do well at Celtic so my sole focus is doing well there and I think the rest takes care of itself.”
Celtic skipper Callum McGregor was also in Belfast and insisted the focus is firmly on the Dons and the challenge posed by a Pittodrie side under new management. He said: “There’s not too many changes in terms of personnel for Aberdeen so, of course, they might have a slightly different idea but for us I think it’s just important that we approach the game the way we do every other game.
“Training’s been good this week, we’re looking forward to another strong challenge but I believe if we turn up and do a lot of good things then we should come away with three points.”
Celtic’s game against the Dons will be their last outing before the Viaplay Final against their Glasgow rivals. The holders are fighting in three competitions at this stage of the campaign and have a last-eight Scottish Cup date away to Hearts next month.
McGregor hopes Celtic can use a larger than usual away support at Tynecastle to help them book their place in the semi-finals as they hunt down a potential Treble under gaffer Postecoglou. The Hoops were handed one of the toughest draws and will play Robbie Neilson’s side twice in a matter of days with a Premiership encounter at Parkhead coming in the preceding midweek.
Celtic’s away allocation at the Edinburgh venue has been cut to under 1300 in recent seasons but they could get up to 3300 tickets and the full Roseburn Stand for the quarter-final clash as away teams are entitled to up to 20 per cent of the spectator capacity of the ground in the Scottish Cup.
On the possibility of having more Celtic fans in the stadium, McGregor said: “It’s important that we try and use that along with the game principles that we always do.
“We always try to approach the game the same way, be dominant, have the ball, impose ourselves in the game. It will be great to have more supporters in there than normal and they always back us to the hilt anyway. We’re looking forward to it.
“It will be a tough game. It’s always difficult going there, especially in a cup tie, a one-off game, but we’ll approach it like we do every other cup tie. We have to be right on the day, you have to do a lot of good things. It’s a difficult venue but hopefully we have enough to overcome it.”
● O’Riley and McGregor were speaking at a JD Sports fans meet & greet in their Castle Place Store in Belfast on February 14, 2023. Shop the full Celtic collection online here or in-store.
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