Frank Connor will be back on Celtic duty this week after being at the centre of a Hampden penalty storm.
Connor was Alan Muir’s assistant VAR when the champions faced Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup Final on December 15. And they were reprimanded by Scottish FA refs chief Willie Collum after they failed to recommend a review of John Beaton’s decision to award Gers a free-kick on the edge of the Celtic box.
Replays showed that Liam Scales had hauled Vaclav Cerny down on the line. However, both men in the Clydesdale House studio opted to stick with the onfield call. Boss Collum was forced to admit his charges had made a massive error and confirmed that both would sit out fixtures over the weekend. But Connor will be back in action and running the line for Celtic vs St Johnstone, while he returns to the VAR room on Boxing Day for Kilmarnock vs Aberdeen.
Muir will also be the eye in the sky this Thursday. He’ll be monitoring St Mirren vs Dundee, which Nick Walsh is in charge of on the park.
And it’s safe to say raging Rangers fans are less than impressed with the appointments. One replied with: “I see Frank Connor’s ‘punishment’ was as stern as they come…” while another added: “Frank Connor running the line on Boxing Day at Killie vs Sheep – what a stiff punishment that was…”