Eyebrows raised as Dortmund vs Celtic referee once left Neil Lennon enraged as UEFA name official with unacceptable Hoops history

Jose Maria Sanchez was not a popular man when he took leadership of Celtic.

Celtic were once ‘harshly done by’ referee Jose Maria Sanchez, who will take control of his second Hoops clash in Dortmund this evening.

Brendan Rodgers and his players are in Germany as their Champions League campaign kicks into high gear following their crushing victory against Slovan Bratislava two weeks ago. It will be a litmus test for where they truly stand in contrast to Europe’s top following a perfect start to the season, and the mood in the camp is upbeat after defeating St Johnstone by six goals.

Sanchez, an experienced Spanish referee noted for issuing 62 yellow cards and four red cards in his last ten matches, will be in the middle in front of the yellow wall. In 2019, the Hoops learnt firsthand about his tough brand officiating. Sanchez was in the middle of their Europa League opening against Rennes in 2019, which ended in a 1-1 draw thanks to a Ryan Christie penalty.

However, the game is primarily remembered for substitute Vakoun Bayo’s late red card. The striker, who came on for Odsonne Edouard late on, was given a booking for catching Rennes captain Damien da Silva with a high boot, forcing him to be stretchered out with a head injury. However, his second yellow card enraged Celtic, as he sought to win a rebound against home keeper Edouard Mendy before a peculiar moment of officiating.

Bayo was beaten to the ball after battling for it, but Sanchez initially allowed play on. However, the home players reacted angrily. Keeper Mendy, who would eventually join for Chelsea for £20 million, went down clutching his face, and when the guy in the middle went over to check on him, he brought play back to dismiss Bayo for a second bookable offence. This was before VAR, and Sanchez did not appear to speak with his assistant before altering his mind, leaving it unclear what the decision was based on.

Then-boss Lennon was enraged as he stated, “I’m not thrilled about the sending off. It appeared to me that the referee was waving play on. I don’t know if he looked back at the custodian while clutching his head.

“There was no contact with his face at all. If anything, it was minimal across his midriff. The referee changed his mind and Bayo can feel very hard done by by that decision. We pride ourselves on our team discipline. Yes, we lost a player to a red card, but we feel harshly done by.”