SFA refereeing chief backs Celtic penalty, says Hearts wrongly denied
The Story
Scottish FA head of refereeing Willie Collum has reviewed recent VAR decisions, stating Celtic’s late penalty at Motherwell was correct but Hearts were wrongly denied a spot-kick in their draw with the same team. Collum also backed two incidents in Celtic’s win over Rangers and said a penalty should have been given to Celtic at Hibernian, while a handball call against Hibernian’s scorer was correct.
Key Facts
- Collum confirmed Celtic’s added-time penalty on 13 May was correct: Sam Nicholson’s hand and arm were “in an unnatural position” and the contact was “a punishable handball”.
- Hearts were wrongly denied a penalty in their 1-1 draw at Motherwell on 9 May: Tawanda Maswanhise appeared to trip Alexandros Kyziridis but referee Steven McLean ruled no foul after reviewing the monitor.
- Collum said the expected and preferred decision on the Kyziridis incident would have been a penalty, calling it “my personal opinion” and noting “some debate in refereeing”.
- Collum described a first‑half handball claim against Motherwell’s Emmanuel Longelo as “good, accurate on‑field decision making” because the ball struck above the t‑shirt line.
- In Celtic’s 3-1 win over Rangers on 10 May, Collum backed the decision not to penalise Alistair Johnston’s challenge on Mikey Moore, calling it “reckless” but not meeting criteria for excessive force.
- Collum also supported the award of Celtic’s equaliser by Yang Hyun‑jun, stating goalkeeper Jack Butland could see the shot and that attacker Benjamin Nygren did not interfere.
- In Celtic’s 2-1 win at Hibernian on 3 May, Collum said a push by Hibernian’s Josh Campbell on Nygren “should’ve been a penalty” – a two‑handed push “far removed from normal footballing contact”.
- The award of Hibernian’s equaliser by Joe Newell was correct, according to Collum, after a “thorough check” found no conclusive evidence of a punishable handball.
Conflicting Reports
The source article notes that on the Hearts penalty incident there is “some debate in refereeing” and that referee McLean told VAR, “I’ve not seen enough.” Collum’s personal opinion was that a penalty should have been awarded, but it was not given on the day.
Still Unclear
No open questions identified in the source article.
Misconceptions
No widespread misconceptions addressed in the source article.
Key Figures
- Willie Collum – Scottish FA head of refereeing
- John Beaton – referee who awarded Celtic’s penalty at Motherwell
- Sam Nicholson – Motherwell player penalised for handball
- Kelechi Iheanacho – Celtic player who scored the winning penalty
- Tawanda Maswanhise – Motherwell player involved in Hearts penalty incident
- Alexandros Kyziridis – Hearts player who appeared to be tripped
- Steven McLean – referee who ruled no foul on the Hearts penalty claim
- Emmanuel Longelo – Motherwell player involved in handball claim
- Nick Walsh – referee for Celtic vs Rangers
- Yang Hyun‑jun – Celtic scorer against Rangers
- Alistair Johnston – Celtic player booked for challenge
- Mikey Moore – Rangers player involved in Johnston tackle
- Jack Butland – Rangers goalkeeper
- Benjamin Nygren – Celtic attacker
- Josh Campbell – Hibernian player who pushed Nygren
- Joe Newell – Hibernian scorer
Sources: BBC News
