Daizen Maeda’s red card away to Atletico Madrid was a bitter pill to swallow for Celtic supporters. The Japanese international’s ordering off early doors killed the game and took away any sense of a competitive edge.
What was most frustrating for fans of the Scottish champions, though, was that the challenge didn’t in any way, shape, or form warrant a sending-off.
Indeed Alistair Johnston labelled the red card a ‘poison’. He said (Daily Record): “It’s a poison – but we need him to play with that edge, so we can’t take that away from him. It was frustrating for him and for us, and it made it a difficult night against a team I expect to go far in this tournament.”
Maeda’s early ordering off made proceedings ten times tougher for the Hoops. They battled through, but the 26-year-old was disappointed. His teammate, Johnston, said: “Daizen was distraught. It was a difficult one for him. He played on that edge but he needs that edge. He is constantly pressing and running into tackles. That is what makes him so effective. In Europe it is reffed a bit differently so I think that is something we are going to have to look at.”
It is greatly intriguing to note that Johnston believes Maeda should potentially change the style of his game and his key characteristics when playing in Europe.
Granted, it is a different intensity when playing on the continent, but the Canada international is touching more on the refereeing side of things.
Tuesday’s man in the middle, Ivan Kruzliak, definitely took the sting out of things early on. Had he made the incorrect decision and had he given Maeda just a yellow, things could have been different and the game may have had much more of a competitive edge to it.
