Celtic were beaten by two goals to nil at home to Hearts on Saturday in what was a pitiful defeat. Supporters were left disappointed as The Bhoys let their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership slip once more.
The first goal Celtic conceded was a free header from a corner, but the second was a tad more contentious. Referee Kevin Clancy blew for a foul on Nathaniel Atkinson and from the free-kick, Stephen Kingsley scored.
Cameron Carter-Vickers, who was adjudged to have been the guilty party, doesn’t think he fouled the Jambos’ right-back: “I didn’t think it was a free-kick”, he said (Daily Record). “I planted my foot on the floor and he (Atkinson) was already slipping. He kind of skipped into my leg which was planted and the referee gave a free-kick.”
Going by the American’s account, there should have been no foul given. Despite this, the champions were in no way up to par at the weekend. It seemed as though play could have gone on all of Saturday night and Celtic wouldn’t have scored.
The officiating was very strange over the course of the game, Clancy missing the same type of fouls for Celtic that he gave to Hearts. It’s not an excuse for Celtic’s overall performance but if Clancy does his job right, Hearts don’t have a second opportunity to score – change the psychology of the game.
