adminYet again, Celtic denied a penalty at Fir Park – It’s disgusting, Derek
Refereeing expert Dermot Gallagher believes Celtic have reason to feel hard done by after not being awarded a penalty in Sunday’s 2-0 victory at Fir Park.
Celtic were convincing winners on the day, and arguably deserved a more comprehensive scoreline than the final 2-0 result as they reclaimed top spot in the table after being temporarily knocked off the summit for 21 hours.
Despite a strong appeal being reviewed by VAR following a second-half incident, the decision was quickly made that no offence warranted a penalty, even though many observers later agreed that a spot kick should have been given.
It ultimately made no difference to the result, with Celtic winning comfortably, but that should not prevent the incident from being brought to attention.
Sky Sports’ Ref Watch ‘expert’ Dermot Gallagher agreed that Celtic had a legitimate claim and believes Motherwell player Lukas Fadinger was fortunate after raising his arm to block Callum McGregor’s goal-bound effort in the second half. He reckons the champions were ‘unlucky’ not to have been awarded a penalty.
The former Premier League referee, who now works for Sky Sports as a ‘refereeing expert’, believes Motherwell were fortunate that neither referee Steven McLean nor VAR official Don Robertson punished the Austrian, which could have resulted in a more emphatic scoreline.
Gallagher, speaking on Ref Watch, said: “This is really interesting because when you see it from one angle—Callum McGregor’s angle—his arm looks as though it’s out.
“But Callum McGregor just wants a corner. It’s his back arm as well so if he gets penalised, he gets penalised. I think he got lucky.”
St Johnstone were awarded a penalty for a broadly comparable offence in their 1-0 victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie in Sunday’s other Premiership fixture, giving Celtic every reason to feel aggrieved.
Daizen Maeda was also refused a penalty during Celtic’s previous visit to Fir Park in May, when the Motherwell goalkeeper went straight through him, striking the Celtic forward in the back with his knee before punching the ball clear.
That incident was frequently overlooked in a match Celtic won 3-2, thanks to Kelechi Iheanacho’s composure after Celtic were awarded a spot kick in the 97th minute for an obvious handball. VAR official Andrew Dallas spotted the offence and instructed match referee John Beaton to review the incident on the pitchside monitor before he confirmed the penalty.
Derek McInnes, who was Hearts manager at the time, described this as disgusting, and Celtic went on to secure the Scottish Premiership title a few days later in dramatic and glorious fashion, while Hearts left the stadium in record time with their tails firmly between their legs.
To date, Celtic and Kilmarnock remain the only teams in the Scottish Premiership not to have been awarded a penalty this campaign.
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