'It's true VAR can help him' - the Celtic player benefiting from system that has caused club such ire

Celtic have been one of the more vocal critics of VAR since its introduction into Scottish football but the technology came to the club's benefit during Wednesday's 4-0 win over St Mirren.

Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi celebrates after making it 2-0 against St Mirren at Celtic Park. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

An incorrect offside flag against Kyogo Furuhashi would have denied the Hoops a third – and prevented the Japanese striker grabbing his second of the night to become the outright top Premiership scorer on 18 goals for the season – were it not for the intervention of the system that has been the subject of such ire for the Parkhead club.

The inconsistency around handball decisions and the time taken to review incidents has caused Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou no end of consternation, but when it comes to offside calls, the clear cut nature of the rule is when VAR becomes a saviour.

And with a player such as Furuhashi playing on the defensive line, the system provides a handy back-up for officials caught out by the deceptive movement of the 27-year-old, such as the one who wrongly flagged in midweek.

“Exactly. [Kyogo] times his run so well," said Celtic team-mate Carl Starfelt. "It’s very hard to defend against. There are times you think he must have been offside because he’s two metres ahead. But it’s just the timing of the run. That’s one of his strengths.

“You see it in training. He has great timing and he’s really fast. It’s hard to play against but it’s also good, because it makes us defenders need to be really at it in training as well.

“It’s true the VAR can help him. He got one the other day that looked offside but it turned out to be on.”

Starfelt, meanwhile, has welcomed the extra competition at the back provided by the arrival of Yuki Kobayashi, who made his debut alongside the Swedish centre-half in the win over Saints.

“I thought he played really well, it was a good debut for him. He was cool on the ball and he won his duels. He was really good.

“Was it a welcome to Scotland? Yes. That is what a lot of the games are like here. It’s very physical.

“I think he did really well and he showed he can handle it. I didn’t give him too much advice, just the normal stuff like getting to know each other and knowing how close to be to each other to help each other out. He did very well.

“The competition for places is really good, it pushes everyone. It keeps everyone on their toes and on edge, while developing their games. The rest is up to the coach."

Celtic now host Morton in the Scottish Cup fourth round on Saturday and Starfelt has insisted there will be no danger of under-estimating the side from the Championship.

“No. Because of the fact that it’s the cup and you only have one chance. If you have been in football for a while you know anything can happen. It doesn’t really matter what league you come from.

“You really need to be focused and if you relax even 10 percent then anything can happen.

“That will be the message we get before the games and all of the players know it.

“I hope – no, I know – there is no risk of complacency."