Martin O’Neill was riled by the decision to send off Auston Trusty after 10-man Celtic were pegged back by William Hill Premiership leaders Hearts in an exhilarating 2-2 draw at Tynecastle.
In a match the defending champions could not afford to lose, they led twice through an early Benjamin Nygren free-kick and a Yang Hyun-jun tap-in just after the hour.
But Hearts hit back each time through Stuart Findlay early in the second half and then in the 87th minute when Claudio Braga fired home.
Trusty was sent off with Celtic leading 2-1 in the 77th minute after being deemed to have denied Landry Kabore a goal-scoring opportunity following a VAR intervention, having initially been shown a yellow card.
It was the Hoops’ first domestic red card since March 2024 and hindered their chances of closing their six-point deficit on Hearts.
“I did have an argument with the red card,” Celtic boss O’Neill said. “The referee has given a yellow card. Obviously, VAR’s re-refereeing the game.
“First of all, the ball is going away from goal, so the player has to get a hold of that and control it. And secondly, and more importantly, is that we’ve got someone covering.
“That’s what the referee saw in the first place and he was pretty close to it. It puts you under severe pressure in the last 20-odd minutes.”
O’Neill conceded the point was “maybe” better for Celtic than for Hearts given the red card and the fact they had also played with 10 men for the majority of Thursday’s 2-2 draw away to Bologna.
The Tynecastle stalemate caused Celtic to drop to third place, with city rivals Rangers moving two points above them.
“At one minute to three, we had a tough time, and we still have a tough time,” O’Neill said. “There’s another game gone past, but we’re still in it.
“I was delighted with the effort of the team, because we’re down to 10 men again. It was a tough old match. But the draw is probably a fair result.”
After losing Kieran Tierney to injury in the second half, O’Neill admitted the strain on his depleted squad “is a concern” as he stressed that “definitely we would need some people in” before the transfer window closes next Monday.
Hearts boss Derek McInnes revealed there was disappointment in the home dressing room given the big chances they squandered.
“We’re disappointed we haven’t won,” he said. “But with how the game played out, coming from behind twice against a team of Celtic’s quality, regardless of their exploits on Thursday night, in the cold light of day, it’s not the worst point.
“But we just felt there was a wee bit more out there for us.
“I’m delighted where we are.
“We’re well aware there’s big clubs and good teams desperate to be where we are. We’ve got to be ready for that challenge as we go along. I believe there’s wins in us. If the fans keep that connection with the team that we had today, who knows where it can take us.”
