It was a day of controversy at Dingwall as Celtic left it late to see off Ross County.
And referee Kevin Clancy and the VAR team were almost as busy as they players with a host of incidents to pull apart. Ross County took the lead in Dingwall after Liam Scales was punished for a handball following an intervention from the off-field team – while Ronan Hale was allowed two bites at the spot kick after VAR stepped in again, with Kasper Schmeichel having come off his line too quickly for the officials’ liking.
In the end Brendan Rodgers‘ men went on to turn the game around and claim a big three points thanks to Alistair Johnston and Nicolas Kuhn – but there was even debate about THAT call as Staggies boss Don Cowie vented his fury after the full-time whistle. But were all the big calls right? Record Sport takes a look.
Liam Scales handball
The Celtic defender initially saw play waved on after he appeared to handle the ball in the box – but Kevin Clancy was called over to the pitchside monitor to check the incident by the VAR team. That allowed Ronan Hale the chance to step up to the penalty spot – and former Celtic hero Aiden McGeady conceded that the Ireland international couldn’t argue with the match officials.
He said: “Yeah, there’s no complaints over that at all. I don’t think he was even complaining himself. It’s a penalty kick all day long.”
Ross County penalty retake
Kasper Schmeichel would deny Hale from the spot-kick – but Ronan Hale would be allowed a re-take with the Danish international judged to be off his line by the VAR team. Watching back the incident, Chris Sutton backed up the officials on commentary for Sky Sports: “He is a yard off. He goes so early, and it’s the correct decision.”
Comparisons had been made to Rangers’ goalkeeper Jack Butland’s penalty save against Hibs last weekend, but former referee Bobby Madden clamped those claims on Instagram stating: “Already have some people saying that penalty save was the same as [Jack] Butland’s. Just a reminder that the goalkeeper must have PART of ONE foot ON or ABOVE the goal line. Again, it’s not difficult.”
Michee Efete ‘penalty’ claim
Celtic were denied a penalty following a collision between Daizen Maeda and Ross County star Michee Efete as the Hoops chased an equaliser. . Reo Hatate lifted a ball into the six-yard box for Maeda – who saw his shot blocked by County goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw. Defender Efete collided with the forward as he closed in on the goalkeeper and whistler Clancy was not sent to the monitor by VAR.
Former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner reckons a spot-kick could have been given, telling BBC Sportsound: “He was a bit late, wasn’t he? All Ross Laidlaw had to do was stay big and wait to get the block in. It was really good play on the edge of the box.”
But fellow pundit Sutton wasn’t having it on Sky Sports. As he rewatched the incident, he said on co-commentary: “It is brilliant combination play between Maeda and Hatate. Hatate feeds the ball through and Laidlaw comes out make the stop. He gets the shot off but he does bring him down. I think that’s right (that there is no penalty). There is a touch on the follow through, but where is he supposed to go?”
James Forrest ‘foul’
Connor Randall was judged to have fouled James Forrest in the middle of the park – which teed up Celtic for the winner. The build up after the set-piece eventually allowed Alistair Johnston to tee up Kuhn for the winner. Boss Don Cowie wasn’t impressed with Clancy at full-time, stating: “The equaliser was a bit fortunate, and then they score a goal from a foul that I didn’t think was a foul.”
Nicolas Kuhn ‘red card’
He was the hero at Dingwall, but should have have been on the part? Nicolas Kuhn celebrated his winner with the away fans at Dingwall while on a booking – but whistler Clancy kept his yellow card in his his pocket. Kris Boyd was left in disbelief by the inciden, stating on Sky: “The rules must have changed. I thought you got booked if you go into the crowd.”
However, IFAB rules imply that the decision to act on a celebration is at the discretion of the man in the middle. It reads: “Players can celebrate when a goal is scored, but the celebration must not be excessive; choreographed celebrations are not encouraged and must not cause excessive time-wasting.
“Leaving the field of play to celebrate a goal is not a cautionable offence but players should return as soon as possible.A player must be cautioned, even if the goal is disallowed, for: climbing onto a perimeter fence and/or approaching the spectators in a manner which causes safety and/or security issues; acting in a provocative, derisory or inflammatory way; covering the head or face with a mask or other similar item; removing the shirt or covering the head with shirt.”