Did Kairat Almaty field ineligible player against Celtic? Burning question answered as star man to miss 2nd leg

That was the question among Celtic fans on social media after the Champions League play-off first leg where the visitors named a player in their starting line-up who they themselves had claimed was suspended.

It was a frustrating night for the Hoops faithful who watched their side conjur up just three attempts on target across 90 plus 10 minutes of injury time against the lowest ranked side left in the competition.

Chants of 'sack the board' echoed around the stadium with Brendan Rodgers' men now requiring a victory from their 7000-mile round trip to Kazakhstan next week to secure a place in the league phase.

Celtic have benefited before

But could Celtic be in for a reprieve? The question was raised after Belarus international Valeri Gromyko played the entire match for Kairat despite the club's own sporting director, Askar Yesimov, stating before the match that the player was suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

It is a scenario Celtic have benefited from twice before. Back in 2014, Ronny Deila's team were beaten 6-1 on aggregate by Legia Warsaw in a Champions League third round qualifier but were awarded a 3-0 win in the second leg and progressed on the away goals rule after UEFA ruled that Legia had fielded an ineligible player.

Three years earlier, Celtic were also given direct passage to the group stages of the Europa League after FC Sion were found to have fielded ineligible players, despite winning the tie 3-1 over two legs.

However, there will be no repeat left-off for Celtic on occasion as it transpires that Gromyko was, in fact, not banned for the match at Celtic Park.

Kairat had initially presumed he was ruled out after picking up three bookings, but UEFA rules stipulate that yellow cards are reset after every two rounds, meaning his caution in the first qualifying round win over Olimpija no longer counted.

One Kairat player who will definitely miss the second leg, however, is star youngster Dastan Satpaev. The 17-year-old attacker, who has already agreed a transfer to Chelsea when he turns 18 next year, was a constant threat at Celtic Park. However, a needless booking in the final minute of stoppage time at the end of the game for blocking Celtic substitute Arne Engels from taking a quick free-kick, has rendered him suspended for the return match at Almaty Central Stadium next Tuesday after he was also booked in both legs of the victory over Slovan Bratislava in the previous round.

Another impressive performer at Parkhead, goalkeeper Aleksandr Zarutskiy, also looks set to miss the second leg after injuring his ankle in the 75th minute before being replaced by understudy Temirlan Anarbekov.

Around £30-£40million is at stake for the winner of the tie, with the loser set to drop into the Europa League where the financial rewards are significantly lower.