The SFA’s KMI panel have ruled that Celtic’s second goal against Hibs last Saturday should not have been chalked off by VAR.

KMI panel reach majority ruling over Daizen Maeda’s disallowed Celtic goal vs Hibs

The SFA’s KMI panel have ruled that Celtic’s second goal against Hibs last Saturday should not have been chalked off by VAR.

Hibs won the Premiership contest at Easter Road 2-1 as Celtic put in a sluggish performance to lose just their second league game of the season

The home side raced into a 2-0 lead as Josh Campbell’s double gave the Bhoys a mountain to climb in the second-half.

Daizen Maeda pulled a goal back for Celtic after 68 minutes before wheeling away in celebration after converting what looked like the leveller in the clash.

The Japanese forward’s second goal was awarded on-field but VAR got involved and decided to chalk it off because they deemed the ball went out of play past the byline in the build-up.

Alistair Johnston stretched to knock the ball into the box for Maeda and TV camera angles showed that it was an extremely tight call.

But the available angles failed to prove conclusively that the whole ball was over the line – yet VAR adjudged that it was

Daizen Maeda’s second goal vs Hibs should have stood

It prompted Brendan Rodgers to accuse VAR Alan Muir of guesswork before lamenting Scottish football’s lack of ‘equipment’ to help officials reach the right decisions.

Now, the five-member KMI panel have declared that the goal should not have been disallowed by VAR and that the original on-field call should have stood.

On the notes attached to the incident, it read: “The majority (4:1) of the panel deemed the on-field decision of goal to be correct. They felt the factual VAR intervention for the ball being out of play was incorrect.

One panel member felt VAR was correct to intervene as they believed one of the angles showed the ball out of play.”

Callum McGregor was ‘surprised’ by no goal decision

Rodgers was baffled and angered by Alan Muir’s decision to overturn the goal – and the same could be said for captain Callum McGregor.

McGregor wasn’t at his best against Hibs, but was on top form in his post-match interview as he called out the ‘big call’ – although stressed mistakes can happen.

We’ve seen all the angles and from what we have seen of them it is a big call to overturn the on-field decision of the referee and the linesman.

“Certainly, the bench was convinced it was a goal. That is part of the game. People make mistakes and you have to accept it and get on with it.”