Dortmund star walks red card 'borderline' vs Celtic after 'naughty' tackle as penalty call branded soft

A former Celtic boss reckons a Borussia Dortmund player walked a red card tightrope against the Hoops - with one of their penalties deemed soft.

Brendan Rodgers’ men headed into the game in Germany on Champions League matchday two full of confidence. They thrashed Slovan Bratislava 5-1 in their opener and have won every game domestically so far this term.

The first 45 minutes in Dortmund were a sobering reality check for boss Rodgers and co, as they trailed 5-1 by half-time in a devastating 45 minutes. Emre Can opened the scoring from the penalty spot and then Daizen Maeda levelled for Celtic.

Karim Adeyemi netted a hat-trick and Serhou Guirassy netted from the penalty spot to leave defeat an inevitability. On co-commentary duty for TNT Sports, however, ex-boss and midfielder Neil Lennon spotted what he felt could have constituted a red card for Dortmund star Pascal Gross.

He was booked for a challenge on Arne Engels after catching him on the ankle. Getting a second look at the incident, Lennon reckoned the former Brighton man was perhaps fortunate. He said: “The flag had gone up for an offside against Celtic.

“Oh, that’s naughty by the way, that is naughty. He has caught him late and studs on the ankle. That is borderline for me. That is not a good challenge from Pascal Gross at all.”

Then Engels was penalised for the second Dortmund penalty for catching Adiyemi when challenging inside the box. Lennon added: “I mean, there’s contact, but it’s very soft. I suppose you could do deem that a penalty. Adiyemi makes the most of it but at this level they are going to give it.”