Kenny Dalglish has voiced his frustration and disbelief over what he perceives as unfair treatment of Celtic during their 2-0 loss to Feyenoord in the Champions League.

Brendan Rodgers’ team found themselves grappling with the aftermath of a challenging match in Rotterdam, but Dalglish is adamant that the officiating by referee Irfan Peljto from Bosnia was flawed, particularly regarding the penalty awarded against Gustaf Lagerbielke.

Dalglish acknowledges that the decision to send off Odin Holm was justified, but he is unable to comprehend and accept the “scandalous” decision against Lagerbielke, especially when VAR supported the referee’s call. As quoted by RecordSport, Dalglish expressed, “Celtic made life difficult for themselves on Tuesday night when they lost 2-0 at Feyenoord in the Champions League. But I also thought they were badly treated by Bosnian referee Irfan Pelito and the match officials.

“In Rotterdam, Peljto’s decision to award a penalty against the Parkhead side for Gustaf Lagerbielke’s challenge on Igor Paixao was scandalous. To add insult to injury, he also booked the Swedish defender, leaving the Hoops a man down.”

Despite Joe Hart’s successful penalty save and a goal conceded to Calvin Steng’s free-kick just before half-time, the match was deemed concluded when Odin Holm received a direct red card for his challenge on Mats Wieffer.

“Joe Hart saved the penalty to keep Celtic in the game at that point after they conceded a goal on the stroke of half-time to Calvin Steng’s free-kick. But it was over as a contest when Odin Holm was shown a straight red for a tackle on Mats Wieffer.

“Down to nine men, Celts were never coming back. The referee called that one correct. However that can’t deflect from his earlier call on Lagerbielke,” Dalglish stated.

He criticised the quality of officiating in UEFA’s premier tournament, arguing that many officials lack the competence required for such high-stakes matches.

“It wasn’t a penalty and it wasn’t a booking. Given it’s the showpiece tournament for UEFA, the standard of refereeing is not good enough. Too many officials are inferior quality and shouldn’t be anywhere near that kind of game.

“They are ruining it and also costing clubs points and financial rewards. They also have VAR in the Champions League and that should have been used to help the referee.”

Dalglish commended Brendan Rodgers for maintaining his composure post-match and not expressing harsher criticism of the referee’s performance, saying “I thought Brendan Rodgers showed commendable restraint at full-time not to be more critical of the referee.”