Celtic suffered a humbling 6-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, but their cause wasn't helped by a first-half sending off for Daizen Maeda.
The Japan international was given his marching orders, after his yellow card for a foul on Mario Hermoso was upgraded to a red following a VAR review, leaving Brendan Rodgers' men with a mountain to climb in the Spanish capital.
Celtic were already 1-0 down thanks to an Antoine Griezmann goal, and the Frenchman would go onto complete his brace, as would Alvaro Morata.
Samuel Lino and Saul Niguez also got on the scoresheet as Atletico put on a show by treating the home fans to some aesthetically-pleasing strikes, while Celtic were left to rue another early exit from Europe.
While the result was rarely in doubt, some Hoops supporters pointed towards referee Ivan Kruzliak as the person who sparked their downfall with the sending off.
Tonight's referee. Explains it all 😂 pic.twitter.com/5DLP26z7fc
— 🍀 Celtic1967.com 🍀 (@Celtic1967_com) November 7, 2023
Celtic have history with referee
Many recalled Kruzliak as the ref who sent off Virgil van Dijk in the first half of a Europa League knockout game away to Inter Milan back in 2015, while a further five players were booked as Celtic crashed out of the competition 4-3 on aggregate following a 3-3 draw at home.
"The referee was horrible today," said the now-Liverpool captain at the time. "It was never a red card and everybody could see that, but he gave it. It's a terrible feeling for me now.
"If you look at the fouls, the first one was never a yellow card. It was maybe a foul - but never a yellow card."
Once again, Kruzliak is at the centre of miserable night for Celtic in Europe, as they sit on one point after four games played in their Champions League group, with a route into the Europa League via a third-place finish also looking unlikely.
