It had looked like Kelechi Iheanacho had drawn Celtic level against SC Braga with a cool finish, in what would have been his second goal in the Europa League this season already, after scoring off the bench against Red Star Belgrade. But then, there was a long VAR check which confused the supporters and even the commentators before the goal was inexplicably ruled out.
The referee did not even head to the monitor, which happens when the decision taken by VAR is factual. But looking at the footage that the fans saw on the telecast, there was no sign of a handball, forget a clear one.
As a result, Celtic fans were left searching for answers after the game. That could have been a pivotal moment in the matchup and helped the Hoops turn things around. Instead, Braga ended up winning 2-0.
As reported by Glasgow World, leaked audio released from the VAR room has explained why the goal was disallowed. TNT Sports revealed:
"Officials are saying there is a clear brush of the left arm somewhere in the footage."
Leaked VAR audio reveals why Celtic goal vs Braga was disallowed
Well, pretty much nobody saw that 'clear brush' of the left arm. Even when looking at the footage after the game. It clearly looks like the ball bounces up and hits Iheanacho in the head or face region, before he manages to bring it under his control and finish calmly past the goalkeeper into the net.
If there had been much contact with the arm, one would imagine that the ball's direction would have changed as a result of it. But that did not seem to be the case in the footage, as it continued to straight on its path.
If there had been a slight brush off the arm, it was too slight to be noticeable. And that is where the debate should lie. The job of VAR is to find clear and obvious errors that have been made while refereeing a game, with the use of technology. They should never be making decisions that are controversial. Then it just becomes another problem instead of a solution.