It was an astonishing decision at the time and it doesn’t get any better for the VAR operatives at Tynescastle on Saturday.
Celtic were denied a stonewall penalty at Tynecastle with the game very much in the balance. James Forrest tried to get the ball into the box when Smith stopped the balls progress with his arm.
It’s a clear penalty and to be honest Nick Walsh should have pointed to the spot as soon as it happened. However, when the referee refused to blow his whistle, the manager, team and support looked for VAR to do its job. They didn’t even properly look at the incident. It was the shortest deliberation of the day.
Former FIFA and EPL referee Mark Halsey can’t believe the incident wasn’t assessed properly by VAR officials.
Celtic managed to get the win in the end despite VAR not being any use to the Scottish Champions. In the end, VAR delivered what we expected, rendered useless because of the people who operate it.
