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Celtic pundits aghast at Callum Osmand penalty snub as hero makes UEFA dig over referee

The Hoops wanted a spot kick during the first half in the Euro showdown with Celta Vigo when Callum Osmand went down in the box

Callum Osmand of Celtic goes to ground under pressure from Sebastian Caceres & Javier Rueda of Celta Vigo

Furious Stiliyan Petrov was left aghast that Celtic were not awarded a first-half penalty in their Europa League clash with Celta Vigo.

And the Hoops hero has even questioned UEFA's decision to hand the game to Bulgarian whistler Georgi Kabakov, citing his compatriot's lack of experience at the top level.

The hosts wanted a spot-kick when Callum Osmand went down in the area under contact from Javi Rueda. The incident was quickly waved away by Kabakov while the German VAR team overseeing matters at Celtic Park opted not to intervene.

And during the half-time break on NT Sports, an incensed Petrov did not hide his feelings on the referee. He said: "I just don't know how he (Kabakov) hasn't seen it. There are a lot of questions about Kabakov as he has only refereed four games in the Bulgarian League and six in the Europa League.

"I don't know what UEFA are looking into (when they pick referees) but you need to have the consistency to make a decision.

Celtic's Callum Osmand pleads with Referee Georgi Kabakov

"(The foul) is probably outside the box but can they even look at it being a red card? Osmand is going through and I think it's a really, really poor decision."

Fellow Celtic favourite Neil Lennon was on commentary duty for the same broadcaster and following the incident, commented: "That is beyond me that (why it's not a penalty). It's either a foul outside the box or a penalty.

"Why does he (Osmand) go down? He doesn't need to. He is going straight into the box and there is definitely contact, we can see it from up here in the gantry. I don't know what the referee is seeing. Any touch at all can bring you down sometimes as you lose balance."

Hearts centre back Craig Halkett was also on punditry duty for the game and added: "He (the defender) was obviously trying to put Osmand off but I think there was more than a little bit of contact there.

"You can see the push when Osmand is running through on goal. He has no other reason to go down so I think the defender is really lucky to get away with that."

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