RYAN CHRISTIE could not believe that Spanish referee Jose Maria Sanchez failed to point to the penalty spot after the Celtic Star was upended at the edge of the Rennes box. It was a clear cut foul, it was clearly inside the area and both the referee and his nearby assistance had clear views of the challenge.
“I thought it was a stonewaller so there’s a sense of frustration. I don’t envy the referee his job, especially in that atmosphere where the fans are shouting for every decision.
“It was a strange one. At the time I looked back and I expected to see the referee giving it. I was shocked when he didn’t.
“If it’s not a penalty then he had to book me but he awarded a throw-in, so it didn’t make much sense.
“I was beginning to question myself but I saw it again in the changing room after the game and it’s a definite penalty.
“It was a relief when we got James’ one to even it up. It was maybe what it was going to take to break the deadlock for us and it was a relief to come away with a point.”
Maybe Jose Maria Sanchez didn’t fancy getting on the wrong side of the passionate home support and that ties in with his absolutely bizarre decision to send Bayo off after complaints from the Rennes players and the howls out outrage from the stands.
Yet the fact remains clear that the keeper’s head was not touched by Bayo who doesn’t even have the right to appeal as it was a second yellow.
“I thought the red card was a bit strange. The incident happened, the referee waved it away and says it’s nothing,” Christie revealed to the media, as reported by Scottish Sun.
“Then he goes to the goalkeeper and decides to show him a second yellow and send him off — but as soon as Bayo’s down the tunnel the goalkeeper is up taking the free-kick straight away with nothing wrong with him.
“I feel for referees because in that kind of atmosphere it must be hard to block all that out — but we’ve got to do it as players.
Behold, one of the most ridiculous red card decisions ever.
Looks like there’s zero head contact to us…
???? – @btsportfootball pic.twitter.com/2qdkKhOw2f
— Weekend Sport (@WeekendSport) September 19, 2019
“In the last ten minutes we felt as though we were walking on eggshells. We felt if we committed any kind of foul we could get a red card.
“So it was difficult but you normally find that playing in this kind of atmosphere.
“It’s maybe part of playing in Europe. The likes of Jonny Hayes’s tackle — there was nothing wrong with it.
“Broony got booked for a strong challenge in the first half as well.
“I’m gutted for Bayo. He came on to try to make an impact and hold the ball up for us. The first one was a booking but the second one was beyond soft. It’s just Bayo’s game. He’s not reckless but he’s physical and dominant.
“I’m not saying referees get conned but it’s easy to get swayed a little bit by the opposition and the fans. We had a lot to deal with out there. It was frustration being behind at half-time as it wasn’t like we’d been dominated or cut open.
“We were dealing with them but we were maybe not getting the final pass away. We still felt confident going in to the second half.
“It was nice to get the penalty after what happened and we showed a lot of character. The new boys, like Chris Jullien, Hatem Elhamed and Boli Bolingoli, did really well. Overall, we’re very happy with the result. We limited them to very few chances and created a few of our own.
“We knew it was going to be difficult, but it’s always going to be difficult away from home in France. But to get a point is fine. If we couldn’t get a win, it was important not to lose it in the end.
“We wanted to come here and get something but we knew with how well they’d started domestically that it was going to be difficult to get something.
“At half-time we were a bit frustrated that after we’d sussed them out we hadn’t been able to hurt them. But we’re happy with a point in the end.
“I should’ve done better late on with a chance after we went down to ten men. If I’d taken it with my right foot I might have got a cleaner connection.
“That’s maybe something we need to improve on — in the last 15-20 minutes we fell out of it a bit.
“We weren’t keeping the ball as much but with them having a home advantage and a hostile crowd behind them they were always going to be trying to put us under pressure a bit in the later stages.
“We’re all very happy we managed to stand up to that. The standard of the teams in this group was underlined by the Cluj result. Everyone can definitely beat each other and it’s going to be hard to progress out of it.
“We’ve got the experience of playing in Cluj and we know how hard it is to go there.
“When that game comes along we’ll have to be at our best but that’s going to be the case in all the games in the group.”
Yassss pic.twitter.com/xUl2LJq63P
— leftwing badges (@Leftwingbadges) September 19, 2019
ALSO ON THE CELTIC STAR…
Lenny wants VAR in Europa League after Spanish referee makes wrong calls…see HERE.
Honours Even – Celtic Frustrated By Spanish Referee under Rennes’ Blood Red Sky…see HERE.
