Peter Leven gives Aberdeen players permission to dive

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The Celtic Star

·5 Maret 2026

Peter Leven gives Aberdeen players permission to dive

Peter Leven criticised VAR following Aberdeen’s 2-1 defeat to Celtic, a result that preserved the visitors’ title challenge…

The interim Dons manager also called on his squad to turn their attention to the Scottish Cup after their chances of finishing in the top six were ended by the champions.

With their league ambitions curtailed, the cup holders now shift focus to their quarter-final encounter with Dunfermline at East End Park, where they hope to keep their trophy defence alive with hopefully Celtic joining the winners of that tie on Sunday.

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However, Leven questioned the process behind the decision to allow Celtic’s winning goal to stand, suggesting the replay appeared to show an offside.

Image from Sky Sports

He said via PLZ: “It looks offside but why’s there not two lines drawn? There was only one drawn. But listen, right now it’s not going for us, these decisions in the game.”

“Players need to be a bit more streetwise. Lyall needs to ask the question late on when Hatate goes in. I thought the players worked really hard today. We started the second-half really well, but listen, it’s just not going for us.”

“They worked really hard, but it’s zero points which is frustrating because I thought they put in a good shift tonight. They are a quality team, Celtic, but I’m proud of the players tonight.”

Leven added: “It’s the next game, a huge game at the weekend. We want to retain the title. The boys will rest and recover and will go again in the later part of the week.”

Benjamin Nygren struck the winning goal, but Leven questioned the VAR process, arguing that officials failed to display a second offside line during the review.

Aberdeen’s Licence to Cheat

The Aberdeen boss also suggested his side may have missed out on a late penalty, claiming Lyall Cameron stayed on his feet when he should have dived instead, despite there being zero contact from Reo Hatate.

“I think Lyall was too honest and stayed in his feet,” Leven remarkably outlined. “Shinnie had a hand in the back and could’ve gone down. I think they need to be more streetwise. We need to start picking up points.”

“I thought second-half we started really well and kept pressure on Celtic but we need to sustain that. I think you saw tonight the quality we have. We just need a longer period of time in games to control the game and create more chances.”