Nir Bitton refuses to blame referee for Celtic loss

Nirr Bitton has refused to blame the referee for Celtic's elimination from the Champions League at the playoff stage.

Celtic lost 2-0 to Malmo in the second leg and failed to qualify after going down 4-3 on aggregate.

With Celtic 1-0 down, Malmo's Kari Arnason appeared to handle the ball before Bitton prodded home, but the referee awarded a free kick against Celtic.

However, rather than blame the referee, Bitton acknowledged that it was Celtic's performance - not the handball decision - that contributed to their exit.

"Sometimes the referee makes a mistake," Bitton told BT Sport.

"There are no excuses for us. We should play better.

"We knew what we needed to do to win the game. We knew what we needed to do to go through. We didn't do it."

Celtic will now compete in the Europa League this season.