The Scottish FA’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel ruled that Celtic should not have awarded a match-winning penalty to Motherwell last week, crushing Hearts’ title hopes.
The finale of the William Hill Premiership campaign was mired in controversy as the Hoops were awarded a spot-kick deep in stoppage time at Fir Park during a 2-2 draw.
VAR Andrew Dallas intervened to inform match referee John Beaton of his belief that Motherwell winger Sam Nicholson had touched the ball with his hand and challenged Celtic defender Auston Trusty in the air.
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Watch the incident at Motherwell when VAR intervened and Celtic were awarded a penalty towards the end of the game.
Referee John Beaton looked at the pitch monitor for about 20 seconds before pointing to the spot and Kelechi Iheanacho duly scored in the 99th minute to give the Hoops a 3-2 win.
The result meant that Celtic would have to beat Hearts by any score on the final day to secure the title, and would have needed a three-goal win to win had the game at Motherwell been completely over.
What was the reaction like?
The backlash against the spot-kick award was fierce and widespread, with Hearts manager Derek McInnes calling it “disgusting” and Motherwell player Elliot Watt calling it “the worst VAR decision in history”.
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Hearts manager Derek McGuinness was disappointed by the decision to award Celtic a penalty for a handball against Motherwell.
It will come as no surprise that the two managers fighting for the title have conflicting views. Celtic manager Martin O’Neill said the decision “seems to be a very clear one” and added: “He gave it for a handball and added an elbow to it as well.”
Beaton was placed in police custody last week after his personal details were leaked online.
The KMI panel today confirmed that the referee’s initial decision not to award a penalty was correct and that the result of VAR intervention was incorrect.
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Chris Sutton and Kris Boyd have disagreed over the controversial VAR decision that resulted in a penalty being awarded to Celtic against Motherwell.
It was the second major decision against Hearts in the final round of the game that was deemed incorrect by the KMI panel after Steven McLean’s initial decision to not award the Jambos a spot-kick to Motherwell was controversial. The match was level 1-1. This despite VAR Greg Aitken noting that Alexandros Kyziridis was brought down by Tawanda Maswanhise.
The Jambos finished the game two points behind Celtic, and those two calls ultimately had a huge impact on their title race.
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Kris Boyd has outlined three key decisions he believes have impacted the title race as Hearts battle Celtic for the trophy.
The referee abused the referee.
Meanwhile, the Senior Football Referees Association of Scotland has condemned the “grossly disproportionate” scrutiny of match officials over the past month.
“SSFRA stands firmly with our colleagues following the completely unacceptable response to recent refereeing decisions,” said a statement released on Friday.
“Irresponsible comments from some managers, clubs and media outlets only add fuel to the fire in an already toxic environment.
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Highlights from the Scottish Premiership match between Motherwell and Celtic.
“No referee should be subjected to this kind of abuse, intimidation, intimidation or disclosure of personal information just for carrying out their duties. This behavior has no place in Scottish football or in society at large.
“Referees play a difficult role in a very demanding environment and deserve the same respect and protection that is afforded to everyone else involved in the game. Scottish football cannot succeed in an atmosphere where referees face personal attacks for the decisions they make in the course of their duties.
“If this behavior continues, we will keep all options open.”
