Celtic appeal Yang Hyun-jun red card

Celtic's Yang Hyun-jun, left, reacts after fouling Heart of Midlothian's Alex Cochrane during a Scottish Premiership match at Tynecastle Park in Edinburgh, Scotland on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

Celtic have lodged an appeal against the decision to send Yang Hyun-jun off during Sunday’s Scottish Premiership match against Heart of Midlothian.

During Sunday’s league fixture at Tynecastle Park in Edinburgh, Scotland, Yang initially received a yellow card for catching Alex Cochrane with a high boot.

Referee Don Robertson, however, reversed that call after a VAR review and gave Yang a straight red card in the 16th minute. That red was Yang’s first since joining Celtic last year. With one man down, Celtic lost 2-0.

Celtic made a statement Tuesday on their official X account confirming that they will appeal the decision. The club also said that they have written to the Scottish Football Association with “serious concerns regarding the use of VAR and the decision made within the match.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers also expressed his frustration with the referee’s call.

“I know that they make mistakes and whatever else but today that felt like really poor officiating,” Rodgers said after Sunday’s match. “I think the first one, there is no force but if you show a still image of that then, of course, it looks like a high boot with the head near it. It is not the reality of the move.”

Yang’s red card comes after he had seen his impact on the team growing in recent games. He recorded two assists in a row in two league fixtures before Sunday’s game.

After joining Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season from K League 1 team Gangwon FC, Yang struggled in the early days of the campaign despite playing as a regular winger pick.

The 21-year-old scored his first goal for the team in November last year, but failed to display an impressive performance afterward, which led to the decline of his time on the pitch and criticism from Rodgers.

With improvements in recent games, he may regain more playing time.

Whether he will be eligible to play in Celtic’s next league match against St. Johnstone on March 16 remains to be seen. A hearing on the appeal is due to take place on Tuesday as of press time.

Celtic are in second place with 68 points on the league table, just two points behind league leaders Rangers as of press time Tuesday. Nine league fixtures remain for both, with the league schedule set to end in May.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]