Celtic to appeal against Auston Trusty red card

Celtic will contest the decision to send off defender Auston Trusty in Sunday’s 2-2 Scottish Premiership draw against Hearts at Tynecastle.

The USA international brought down Hearts striker Pierre Landry Kabore with Celtic leading 2-1 and was originally shown a yellow card by referee Steven McLean.

However, the video assistant referee (VAR) advised an on-field review and McLean deemed Trusty had denied a goal-scoring opportunity, upgrading the yellow card to red.

League leaders Hearts went on to equalise through Claudio Braga and earned a point which maintained their six-point lead over the defending champions.

After the game, interim Celtic manager Martin O’Neill insisted Trusty should not have been dismissed.

“I’ve seen it back and I have to say I don’t see it,” the Northern Irishman said.

“Maybe I’ve been out of the game too long or have misread the rules. But, first of all, the ball that’s played is going away from goal and we have a man round on the cover.

“It is not a red card. It is gone now, but it played a massive part.”

In a statement on Monday, the Parkhead club said: “We can confirm that Celtic Football Club will be submitting an appeal to the SFA in relation to the red card imposed on Auston Trusty, following the intervention of VAR during Sunday’s match at Tynecastle.”