Reo Hatate endured a dramatic swing from hero to villain during Celtic’s Europa League clash in Bologna after a reckless dismissal left his side under pressure.
The Japanese midfielder had given the Hoops the perfect start by firing them into an early lead, putting Celtic 1-0 up inside the opening minutes. However, his night quickly unravelled. Just before the half-hour mark, a brief spell of poor judgement saw Hatate collect two yellow cards in quick succession, reducing Celtic to ten men.
Celtic legend Pat Bonner was furious with the midfielder’s actions and did not hold back in his assessment on BBC Sportsound, describing the incident as needless.
“He has kicked out, I’ve just seen the replay,” Bonner said. “He’s caught him on the back. It’s so silly. He was booked only five minutes earlier and then he does that. Two bookings and he’s off.
“He’s put Celtic under real pressure. You’re one-nil up and then you do that. There’s nobody else to blame. What is he thinking?”
Bonner briefly considered whether the referee might share some responsibility but ultimately accepted the decision was unavoidable.
“I was going to ask about the referee, but he’s left him no choice. It’s a booking, not a straight red, but it’s still a booking. Once you’ve just been cautioned, you have to know you’re on thin ice.
“You cannot do something like that and put your teammates under that sort of pressure. Now the crowd sense an opportunity and Bologna believe they can get back into it.”
Despite the setback, Celtic responded in impressive fashion. Rather than retreating, the ten men found a second goal just before the break, with Auston Trusty heading home to double the advantage and cap a remarkable end to the first half.