In Sunday’s game between Aberdeen and Ross County, Celtic cult figure Jonny Hayes was the victim of a horrifying challenge. After James Brown pushed in on the Irishman, the versatile Hayes received what was a red card in almost all eras of the game.
Although VAR should have intervened to provide the player his marching orders up at Pittodrie, the referee only issued a yellow card for the tackle. You shouldn’t be shocked if Don Robertson made a mistake that day and the SFA Compliance Officer intervened to fix it.
This needs to be mentioned because Willie Callum was working the VAR during the game. Collum has an out-of-date perspective on technology, and in this instance, rather than making efficient use of the tools at his disposal, he has left his colleague hanging. In the Dundee vs. Killie match, Alan Muir made the decision to go to the monitor and uphold his initial judgment. The Dens Park team is currently appealing Alan Muir’s ruling. The teams, spectators, and overall product appear to suffer since there does not appear to be a unified approach to refereeing in te country.
It was a horrific injury, but hopefully Hayes
will be able to play in both the league match at Ibrox against Rangers and the away cup games for Aberdeen against Ross County. In order for them to advance, Barry Robson will be anxious that one of his dependable lieutenants is healthy and prepared to compete on all fronts.
Hayes first arrived to Celtic Park in the 2017 summer. Given his age, there were some initial skeptics about the deal, but the fact that he had previously worked with Brendan Rodgers at Reading convinced them otherwise. Even though the Irishman arguably wasn’t at the level needed to advance in Europe, his adaptability was a huge asset to the team. Although he departed the club with his head held high as a part of the club’s history after winning 8 of a possible 8 titles. There may even be arguments that the team should have kept him for the 2020–21 campaign rather than signing Diego Laxalt on loan, which is garbage.
Hayes made 62 appearances for Celtic, but his best performance was perhaps the goal he scored at Ibrox that gave Celtic a 2-0 victory over Rangers.
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