Dermot Gallagher cast his expert eye over the chaos that ensued at Celtic Park on Saturday and concluded that the officials were as good as both teams.
The much-hyped top of the table clash lived up to the billing for once, as Celtic had Aberdeen on the ropes, only for the Dons to slug their way out of trouble and almost landed a knockout blow towards the end. Duk‘s disallowed goal was just the beginning of the heart in mouth moments, as Brendan Rodgers’ side then saw a late winner ruled out before Duk DIDN’T use his hand to deny Alistair Johnston.
The Canadian thought he’d made amends for barging Dimitar Mitov over the line earlier in stoppage time, allowing Adam Idah to nod home, although the foul was as clear as you’ll see. Duk’s even later intervention required a VAR check, but the Cape Verde star’s celebrations – which had more conviction than when the Reds thought they’d won it – were vindicated by the extra eyes in Clydesdale House.
Here’s the former Premier League whistler’s take on all three big decisions.
Duk’s disallowed goal
Gallagher: “This is where VAR works well because without doubt, when I saw this, I thought it was a goal. Then you see it clearly comes off his arm into the net directly. That’s key, because it’s not deliberate, but it goes directly into the net off his arm.
Celtic’s disallowed goal
Gallagher: “It’s the right decision. Alistair Johnston backs into the goalkeeper. If you watch the full back as Idah goes to head the ball, he backs into the goalkeeper and knocks him, so it’s the correct decision.”
Duk’s last gap block
Gallagher: “It hits him in the chest. It hits him in the midriff. It’s a great block and you can see why he’s celebrating. I think this was the last minute. He throws himself at it but he doesn’t handle it. It’s checked by the VAR and cleared.”