All the positivity that had built around Celtic following that 7-1 win over Hearts last weekend has been sucked away following a third straight defeat in the Europa League, this time against Celta Vigo, which has left them in 35th spot in the competition. So, advancing to the next round looks very unlikely as things stand.

Obviously, Celtic will want to put the disappointment behind them as quickly as possible. And they will get the chance to do that when they face Hibernian this weekend.

The officiating is always a point of discussion when it comes to Scottish football, and it has now been confirmed that Celtic were denied a penalty in one of their recent outings.

The incident took place in Celtic's game against Motherwell, when a shot from Callum McGregor was blocked by Lukas Fadinger.

Even though the ball did make contact with Fardinger's arm, it was determined that it was not in an unnatural position and a penalty was not awarded to Celtic as a result.

As it turns out, that decision seems to have been off the mark. Willie Collum, who is now the Scottish FA's head of referees, said on Sky Sports' VAR Review Show (via The Herald):

"Again, I've got great sympathy for the Motherwell player because I think he is trying to avoid the contact.

"As the shot comes in, he's turning his body away, he's bringing his leg up to block the ball.

"There's definitely discussion between the referee and the VAR about the arm tucked in. I think the elbow's tucked in, but the Motherwell player takes a real risk by his arm out from the body here.

"And in our opinion, after reviewing this incident, our coaching going forward is that this should be a penalty kick, should be awarded in this incident.

"Perhaps if McGregor hits this shot here and the Motherwell player is trying to pull his arm back, and he's only maybe one yard away, it's back to your previous comments. You could maybe make an argument there.

"But here the ball travels a fair distance, clear shot at goal, and ultimately, when you pause the still image, when the ball strikes the arm, the arm is out and unnatural from the body."

Fortunately, the decision did not end up having an impact on the result of the game. Celtic won 2-0.

On another day though, that might not have been the case and the match could have ended in a draw or even a defeat for Celtic. So, it needs to be ensured that the correct decisions are made as often as possible, especially with VAR at play.

Unfortunately, officiating has always remained a controversial topic in Scottish football. The standards need to be raised. And so many years after the implementation of VAR, such mistakes should not be made.

Celtic will be hoping that nothing of that sort is repeated when they take on Hibernian at the weekend, in what is a must-win contest in many ways.

Celtic have now lost five of their previous seven games across all competitions. That is simply unacceptable.

Going into the season, the aim was to make it to the Champions League. But it has quickly become clear that this is a team no longer capable of even competing in the Europa League.

It is a difficult time for the club at all levels. The last thing they need is refereeing decisions going against them as well.