Engels thought referee was going to award penalty to Celtic in second-half VAR incident

Arne Engels thought the referee was going to award a penalty to Celtic amid second-half VAR drama in their defeat to Bayern Munich.

The Hoops lost the first leg of their Champions League clash 2-1 in Parkhead on Wednesday night.

Vincent Kompany’s side raced into a 2-0 lead with strikes from Michael Olise and Harry Kane before Celtic staged a mini fight-back to keep the tie alive with a goal from Daizen Maeda.

When they were trailing by two goals, Engels fell inside the box when Dayot Upamecano stamped on his foot during a coming together.

The referee, who initially missed the incident, was called over to the monitor for a potential penalty check but decided there would be no spot-kick after seeing the defender get a touch on the ball before making contact with the Belgian midfielder.

Speaking after the game, Engels said: “I felt something on my foot and I thought it was a penalty, but I heard from the guys inside that he slightly touched the ball and that made it not a penalty.

“I think if the referee is called to the screen, then there is something there, and I thought that it would have been a penalty, but it wasn’t.”

Brendan Rodgers’ side also had a goal ruled out in the first minute when a strike from Nicolas Kuhn found the back of the net just after kick-off.

But the assistant referee spotted Adam Idah straying offside just before the shot flew past Manuel Neuer.

The Scottish champions now face an uphill task in Munich for Tuesday’s second leg of the playoff tie, as they trail the Bundesliga leaders by a goal.

The defeat was Celtic’s first at home in Europe since an injury-time goal by Lazio secured a 2-1 loss back in October 2023.