Kelechi Iheanacho looked confused by the ruling out of his equalizing strike
Kelechi Iheanacho described it as "a terrible call". Fellow player Tounekti said it was "unbelievable". Former Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart chose "ridiculous".
Manager Brendan Rodgers expressed frustration at what proved to be a "huge moment" when the Scottish side saw an Iheanacho goal disallowed early in the second half against Sporting Braga.
The Nigerian believed he had equalised for the hosts when he fired a left-footed shot into the opposite side after breaking past a weak defensive challenge.
Nevertheless, after a lengthy review, VAR Christian Dingert instructed referee Tobias Stieler to disallow the goal because of a potential handball, despite replays appearing to show the ball hitting Iheanacho in the face.
"It didn't hit my hand, and that altered the game," the striker stated.
Add in a couple of superb stops by Braga goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek and the frustration is perhaps understandable.
Team's Self-Inflicted Errors Hurt Their Chances
But during the match, Celtic made errors of their own.
On 20 minutes, a shot from Horta from long range fizzed and dipped towards Kasper Schmeichel's goal, but the veteran keeper misjudged it and was left sprawled on the turf as the visiting Braga players cheered the first goal.
Another defensive mess in the second half resulted in Dane Murray's attempted clearance deflecting from Gabri Martinez and into the goal.
It wasn't much better going forward for Rodgers' side, who spent large portions of the final 45 minutes with their leading scorer from previous campaign - Daizen Maeda - at defensive wing position.
The Glasgow side drew a blank for the fifth time in a dozen matches this season - the same number in which they failed to score in the whole of last season.
Post-Match Reaction and Analysis
Rodgers changed to a back three at the interval in an attempt to find a spark, with the forward taking up a more defensive position and the substitute replacing the starting player.
Celtic did improve and when Iheanacho beat the opposition keeper, the Scottish team were the team dominating.
That momentum was halted by a lengthy video review, the result of which was unfathomable to the majority - if not all - at Parkhead.
Former Celtic title-winning goalkeeper Joe Hart - on broadcasting work - was in no doubt the goal would be allowed at the time of the incident.
"There's VAR checking for handball potentially spoiling everyone's fun, but actually, it hits his head," Hart remarked.
"Why would they possibly be waiting for? They must be seeing a different replay to me. Why are we wasting our time for? This is unacceptable."
Speaking afterwards, those in the home dressing room were equally perplexed. "There was never a handball, it's unbelievable that the referee ruled out that," the midfielder said.
"We watched the footage over again and I discussed with Kele about it. I'm very curious in what VAR saw because that was never a handball."
"I think if that goal stood we would emerge victorious without doubt."
Rodgers, too, was baffled at how the officials arrived at the decision they did.
"There's absolutely no way, however you look at it, [Iheanacho] has made contact [with his hand]," the team's boss declared. "That's a huge moment in the game."
Broader Issues for Celtic
The majority of the post-game attention was on the non-goal, but Schmeichel's mistake gave the advantage to Braga.
The effort from distance had an xG rating of just 0.027, but it got past the 38-year-old goalkeeper's grasp.
"He'll be really disappointed with it," the manager commented. "That was a good strike and it's clearly swerved a bit, but I haven't spoken to him about it."
Beyond the defensive errors, this was another match where the team have failed to fire this season.
Maeda is being used in an unfamiliar role to make space for the new signing, while every midfield combination Rodgers has tried has been ineffective and energy.
The team failed to defeat Kazakh side Kairat Almaty over three-and-a-half hours as they were eliminated of the Champions League.
This represents the fewest matches into a season in which the club have had five games without scoring since the 1991-92 season.
Supporters have pointed out the apparent shortage of recruitment investment in the off-season.
But Celtic's struggles date back to last winter, when they ran Bayern Munich close before being eliminated of the premier European competition.
Since then, they have been unable to victory in almost half their games in all competitions.
"It was a disappointing display from Celtic," former Scotland forward James McFadden commented. "Missing the usual standard, something we're unaccustomed to seeing with Celtic."
"I think the tactical adjustment at half-time provided some improvement, but in the end the visitors earned their victory."
Mistakes at the back and a shortage in offensive threat is rarely a successful formula.
"Not enough intent for me," former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner observed. "Possession play fine, circulating possession, but not enough real intent in that final third."
"Poor defensive organization and significant errors from Schmeichel."
