In a nail biting Scottish Premiership clash at Dens Park, Celtic edged out Dundee 2-1 to maintain their lead at the top of the table. However, the match concluded with a contentious decision from referee John Beaton, who issued a yellow card to Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart for time-wasting, sparking a debate among fans.
As the game neared its conclusion, tension built with Celtic holding a slender lead, courtesy of two goals from James Forrest. The match took a dramatic turn when Celtic striker Adam Idah inadvertently scored an own goal while attempting to clear a corner, which brought Dundee back into contention. Despite the setback, Celtic managed to control the game’s understandably tried slowing down the play towards the end.
Referee John Beaton’s decision to book Hart after just two instances of delaying the game has come under scrutiny. Typically, in Celtic games, opposition goalkeepers take as much time as they possibly can during goal kicks throughout a match without reprimand beyond a verbal warning. This leniency has led to a strategy among teams facing the top sides like Celtic: deliberately slow the game to disrupt rhythm.
So it was galling for many Celtic fans after the apparent inconsistency in the enforcement of time-wasting rules. Perhaps Joe was more overt about it and you need to ‘play the game’ more. Goalkeepers regularly taking the ball from one side of the six-yard box to the other, taking long run ups, and sometimes pretending they don’t see the ball in their eye line.
Despite the debate, Celtic’s victory keeps them three points clear at the top of the league, with only four games remaining. The pursuit of the title is intense, and every moment on the pitch is under scrutiny, as evidenced by the clash at Dens Park.
As the season heads into its final stages, the scrutiny over refereeing decisions will only intensify. The question remains whether this incident will prompt a more consistent application of the rules or if it will be an isolated case. Celtic are at home to Hearts next week and you have to wonder if time wasting will be punished.
