Celtic have confirmed they will appeal the red card given to Auston Trusty .
The defender was sent off following a VAR review during the club’s 2-1 defeat to Hibernian at Celtic Park.
The incident, which occurred when the home side were gearing up to take a corner, saw Trusty strike the arm of Hibernian’s Jamie McGrath.
Celtic FC can confirm that we will be submitting an appeal to the SFA in relation to the red imposed on Auston Trusty during yesterday’s match. The Club believes that the player was wrongfully dismissed and that the decision was reached following VAR intervention. pic.twitter.com/cKDQGhDG0k
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) February 23, 2026
Referee Matthew MacDermid initially only wanted to speak to both players, but after being called to the screen for an on-field review by Grant Irvine at Clydesdale House, Trusty was dismissed.He will therefore miss the Glasgow Derby against Rangers at Ibrox next week. After Trusty’s sending off, Celtic went on to concede a late goal to Kai Andrews in the 88th minute.
Following the match, Celtic interim manager Martin O’Neill spoke about the incident.O’Neill said: “Well, I’ve just had a word with the referee, and he said that he was going to just have a word with the two players, first of all, then I think VAR intervened and said that it was violent conduct.”
“Yeah, I’ve spoken to him (Trusty). At the end of it all, you can’t do this. These are the rules now. It doesn’t matter whether somebody’s holding on to you at all. In an attempt to break away, you can’t, I think, thrust down in the manner in which he did.
“So I’ve been told that’s called violent conduct.”
The club released a statement following the incident saying: “Celtic FC can confirm that we will be submitting an appeal to the SFA in relation to the red imposed on Auston Trusty during yesterday’s match.
“The Club believes that the player was wrongfully dismissed and that the decision was reached following VAR intervention.”Celtic blast ‘VAR intervention’, confirm appeal for Auston Trusty’s dismissal