Celtic and Brendan Rodgers will feel hard done by at halftime after a Ben Davies handball in the first half looked to be a clear penalty.

A Kyogo Furuhashi header in the 24th minute clearly struck Davies’ hand in the Rangers box, with referee Nick Walsh not giving a penalty.

VAR reviewed the decision but, bafflingly, didn’t award a penalty.

🗣️'I don't think there's a lot he can do but we've seen them given this season.'

Should Celtic have been awarded a penalty for a handball against Ben Davies?

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— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) May 25, 2024

Yet again, VAR picks and chooses when to give penalties, and one thing is clear: many Celtic supporters will be of the opinion that if the incident happened the other way around in the Celtic box, it likely would have been a penalty to Rangers.

With the inconsistency of refereeing decisions across the board in Scottish football since the inception of VAR last season, one side seems to benefit most from refereeing and VAR decisions, with Celtic yet the victim of inconsistent refereeing decisions, not for the first time this season.

Comparing and contrasting the decision not to give a penalty this afternoon against the decision to give a penalty against Tomoki Iwata at Tynecastle, really sums up that Celtic should most definitely have been awarded a spot kick against Rangers this afternoon.

🗣️ "Hearts may not be in this title race but they could be having a say in it!"

Jorge Grant puts the home side in front against Celtic after VAR awarded a penalty for handball. What are your thoughts on the incident? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/8rdUVTHYwO

— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) March 3, 2024