Celtic's Reo Hatate 'should have been sent off' against Kilmarnock

Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate should have been shown a red card for a foul on Kilmarnock’s Liam Donnelly, according to an independent review.

The Premiership champions won 2-0 at Rugby Park to return to the top of the table last Sunday, with Callum McGregor and Nicolas Kuhn scoring the goals that secured three points for Celtic.

But much of the post-match discussion surrounded Hatate’s challenge, and whether referee Nick Walsh made the right decision to show the Japanese midfielder a yellow card.

The Scottish FA has now published the findings of the independent Key Match Incident panel, who review major decisions on a weekly basis.

The panel concluded that VAR officials should have asked Walsh to review his decision on the pitch-side monitor and that Hatate should have been dismissed.

The decision wasn’t unanimous though, with three of the panelists believing VAR should have intervened but two individuals saying it didn’t meet the threshold for a clear and obvious error.

The report read: “The panel discussed this decision at length with the majority (3:2) deeming the onfield decision incorrect.

“The majority (3:2) believed that VAR should have intervened and recommended an OFR for a red card to be awarded as they believed that the challenge endangered the safety of the opponent.

“Two members of the panel highlighted that they didn’t think the potential foul was clear and obvious enough for VAR to get involved and a caution sufficed.”