{"id":299956,"date":"2026-02-15T21:45:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T21:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/299956\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T21:45:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T21:45:10","slug":"neil-mccann-deeply-unhappy-with-officials-after-late-celtic-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/299956\/","title":{"rendered":"Neil McCann Deeply Unhappy With Officials After Late Celtic Win"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Neil McCann\u2019s post-match frustration spilled over into a pointed rant about stoppage time, with the Kilmarnock manager questioning the seven minutes added on before Celtic struck their dramatic late winner.<\/p>\n<p>The Rugby Park side had led for long spells and looked on course to take something from the game before Celtic\u2019s late surge turned the contest on its head. McCann, clearly angered by the ending, suggested the amount of added time was excessive.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SPFL_KILLIE_CELTIC_03423-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"celtic fc captain callum mcgregor, rugby park\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1834\" class=\"size-full wp-image-135455\"  \/>15th February 2026; Rugby Park, Kilmarnock, Scotland: Scottish Premiership Football, Kilmarnock versus Celtic; Callum <a data-autolink-id=\"11\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/celtsarehere.com\/callum-mcgregor-glasgow-celtic-2\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">McGregor<\/a> of Celtic celebrates after the win<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not quite sure where they get seven minutes from. You just make that up these days,\u201d he told <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PLZSoccer\/status\/2023079735815819460?s=20\" rel=\"nofollow\">PLZ Sport<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The claim raised eyebrows given the stop-start nature of the second half. There were multiple substitutions, two Celtic goals, prolonged stoppages for treatment and repeated delays as players went to ground. By modern standards, seven minutes felt conservative rather than generous.<\/p>\n<p>Crucially, added time is not a punishment. It is an opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>While Celtic used it to complete their comeback, Kilmarnock had the same window to manage the game, relieve pressure or even score the decisive goal. Instead, the closing stages saw the hosts retreat deeper as Celtic forced the issue.<\/p>\n<p>McCann acknowledged his real frustration lay with his team\u2019s inability to see the match out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m most angry about,\u201d he admitted. \u201cThe anger comes from not seeing that out and getting at least a point.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SPFL_KILLIE_CELTIC_05192-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Neil McCann Rugby Park, Kilmarnock Manager\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1668\" class=\"size-full wp-image-135452\"  \/>15th February 2026; Rugby Park, Kilmarnock, Scotland: Scottish Premiership Football, Kilmarnock versus Celtic; Kilmarnock Manager Neil McCann speaks to the media after the match<\/p>\n<p>Celtic\u2019s late push felt inevitable. Their energy after the break, sparked by substitutions and attacking urgency, pinned Kilmarnock back and shifted momentum decisively toward the away end.<\/p>\n<p>Even McCann conceded what was coming.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClearly Celtic are going to come at us in the second half.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They did. And they did not stop.<\/p>\n<p>Stoppage time became the focal point of the aftermath, but the broader picture was Celtic\u2019s persistence and belief. When pressure mounted and the game entered its final seconds, Martin O\u2019Neill\u2019s side continued to push for the decisive moment.<\/p>\n<p>They found it.<\/p>\n<p>Seven minutes did not win the game. Celtic\u2019s refusal to accept anything less than victory did.<\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/teesfortims.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><br \/>\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CELTIC-FC-VALENTINES-MERCHANDISE-CARD.png\" alt=\"Tees for Tims\" width=\"100%\"\/><br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Neil McCann\u2019s post-match frustration spilled over into a pointed rant about stoppage time, with the Kilmarnock manager questioning&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-299956","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}