Celtic hero slams VAR decision that is 'beyond belief' as Hoops legend can't fathom what John Beaton watched

Neil Lennon has come out swinging in defence of Celtic after VAR controversy brought havoc to their defeat against Hearts.

A 2-0 loss was inflicted upon Brendan Rodgers' side after Jorge Grant and Lawrence Shankland goals either side of half-time. The first half in Gorgie was marred by refereeing decision at and outside the stadium, Don Robertson handing Celtic a penalty for an Alex Cochrane foul on Yang.

The South Korean winger was then sent off for a high boot on Cochrane after VAR official John Beaton recommended a second look. Celtic then had a penalty given against them following a check for a Tomoki Iwata handball and Shankland had a goal chopped for being offside.

Hoops hero Lennon insists that only the disallowed goal was the right call. All the rest were, in his opinion, VAR and poor refereeing calls as he struggles to fathom why Beaton called for a second look at Iwata's handball.

He said: “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with VAR. I think it’s the people that make the decisions. The technology is there to aid the decision-makers. You have to say that all the decisions apart from the offside for Lawrence Shankland were wrong.

"I didn't think Celtic's was a penalty, and I certainly didn't think it was a red card. With Yang there is no real intent, he is just trying to flick the ball over Cochrane's head. I know people are saying he endangered the player with the high boot - but that certainly wasn't the case from Yang.

"And the penalty that Hearts got was beyond belief. Iwata has his eyes closed and has been bumped by Johnston, the ball lands on his arm and they come to the conclusion that it's a penalty. So I understand Brendan's frustrations."

Neil Lennon was promoting Viaplay’s live and exclusive coverage of Celtic v Livingston and Hibernian v Rangers on Sunday. Viaplay is available to stream from viaplay.com or via your TV provider on Sky, Virgin TV and Amazon Prime as an add-on subscription.