Kyogo Furuhashi got off to a great start in the EFL Championship on Friday evening.
The Celtic hero completed a £10m switch to the Blues in early July and made his competitive debut for the club against Ipswich Town.
Kyogo started the game, despite manager Chris Davies reportedly not being “too pleased” with the Japanese star’s early progress at St Andrew’s.
Sky Sports pundit Clinton Morrison waxed lyrical about Kyogo in the build-up to the opening Championship encounter of the new season.
And it was clear why just seven minutes into the game.
Kyogo Furuhashi and Jacob Greaves during EFL Championship clash between Birmingham City and Ipswich Town
Credit: YouTube/Sky Sports FootballDon Goodman blasts referee call to chalk off Kyogo goal
Kyogo and the rest of Birmingham fans thought he’d scored an amazing lobbed effort after just seven minutes of play against Ipswich.
He outmuscled defender Jakob Greaves and hit a first time chip over the Ipswich goalkeeper’s head and into the net.
But the referee blew his whistle before the ball nestled in the back of the net because he adjudged Kyogo to have fouled Greaves to get to the ball.
And that baffled Sky Sports co-commentator Don Goodman, who slammed the referee for robbing Kyogo of a debut goal.
🗣️ “For me, I think it should be a goal”
🗣️ “For me it’s a foul”Mixed opinions on that Kyogo disallowed goal, who do you agree with? 🤔💬 pic.twitter.com/7VPVbY6c6a
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) August 8, 2025
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Goodman said: “What a finish that is, for him (Kyogo) to be able to have the awareness to know where the goalkeeper is.
“The referee has given a couple of really soft fouls, is this another one here?”
While watching back replay, Goodman reacted: ”Oh wow, well Birmingham can feel aggrieved. Would he give a penalty for that if it was in the penalty area at the other end? 100% no.
“That is a really poor decision, and it’s been costly.”
Chris Davies reacts to Kyogo’s disallowed goal
Birmingham boss Chris Davies believed the decision to chalk off the Kyogo chip was harsh by the referee and pointed out the size difference between him and Greaves.
However, Davies was positive about the ex-Celtic forward’s overall performance.
He said: “Again, I thought it was harsh. You only have to look at Kyogo to see the size of him compared to the centre-back. For me, that one looked harsh.
“The good news is that is what Kyogo is capable of. He was trying to make the right runs and was disciplined in his performance. I’m really happy with him.”