Celtic have had some controversial VAR decisions in the final week of the season, with a second-half penalty against Motherwell seen as the wrong decision.
Celtic were given a title-clinching second-half penalty after Motherwell’s Sam Nicholson was penalized for handball (Image: Robert Perry/PA Wire)
The Scottish FA’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) Committee ruled that the penalty that helped Celtic win against Motherwell last week should not have been awarded.
Kelechi Iheanacho scored the winning goal after Glasgow were awarded a spot-kick in stoppage time with the score at 2-2 at Fir Park. It changed the outlook on the final day, which ultimately became a title battle.
VAR’s Andrew Dallas intervened and advised referee John Beaton to look at the screen after he felt Motherwell winger Sam Nicholson had touched the ball with his hand in the air, despite replays suggesting it went off his head.
In the event of a draw, Celtic would have needed to beat Hearts by three points on the final day, but a late win against Motherwell meant they should have won. They would have won 3-1 and retained the title, but it turns out the VAR decision speaks for itself.
The KMI committee now confirmed that the referee’s initial decision not to award a penalty was correct and that the result of VAR intervention was incorrect, further frustrating Hearts.
read more: Celtic referee releases statement after VAR controversy, family under police surveillanceread more: Chris Sutton, Gary Lineker hit back at Celtic’s VAR outrage, calling it ‘excessive’
The backlash against the spot-kick award was intense, with Hearts manager Derek McInnes calling it “disgusting”. Beaton was subsequently placed under police protection after his personal information was leaked online last week.
It was their second big decision to play against Hearts in the final week of the season. The KMI committee claimed Stephen McLean was wrong to stick to his original decision not to award the Edinburgh side a spot-kick to Motherwell, even though the match was level at 1-1, despite VAR’s Greg Aitken suggesting Alexandros Kyziridis might have been tripped by Tawanda Maswanhise. Hearts drew that match and a win would have been enough to make them champions.
John Beaton awarded the penalty after a brief look at the VAR monitor (Image: Craig Williamson / SNS Group)
After the controversial call went Celtic’s way, manager Martin O’Neill said it “seemed to be a pretty clear call”, adding: “He gave it for a handball and then he gave it for an elbow.”
If Celtic win 3-1 on the final day, it will be a suspenseful affair. The Boies were forced into a comeback, and they were unable to take a 2-1 lead until the final four minutes due to Daenen Maeda’s performance. The third minute of stoppage time could have led to a pitch intrusion and Hearts have liaised with Police Scotland to condemn the scene.
Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive daily Mirror Football content. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can always check out. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+ and Ultimate TV packages
Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundles to include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, plus 135 channels and complete coverage of the Premier League and EFL from Sky.
Sky has over 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more, with at least 215 of them live from the top flight, along with F1, darts and golf.
