Pundits Debate Celtic Flashpoint

CELTIC were awarded their first domestic penalty since April on Sunday, and it’s caused an outroar.

30th October 2022 ; Almondvale Stadium, Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland: Scottish Premier League football, Livingston versus Celtic: Giorgos Giakoumakis of Celtic misses from the penalty spot after Celtic are awarded a penalty through the use of VAR

Twitter has had journalist state that the handball rule needs to change in reaction to the awarded penalty, and fans have jumped on the bandwagon, agreeing with this claim.

Willie Collum didn’t award it initially but was invited over to the monitor for a second look and decided it should be a spot kick for Celtic.

Here’s what the Sky Sports pundits had to say about the penalty.

Mark Wilson: “I think so, this is why it’s been brought into the game. I’m going to cut Willie [Collum] a bit of slack here because with the angle he’s at, I think he struggles to see it.

“We were a long way from the incident, and we weren’t quite sure but it VAR was used properly in this instance, and it was quick. I think when you see the hand up you can see it’s in an unnatural position, outstretched and it’s the right decision for me.”

James McFadden: “I agree, his hands are clearly up. This is what you would term as an unnatural position, and this is VAR has been introduced. The referee can’t see it and is behind the play, so VAR have intervened and come to the correct decision.”

It’s good to see there was no disagreement here. Last week’s claim was more certain than Sunday’s, which is the frustrating part.

It was deja vu for Giorgos Giakoumakis, unfortunately. Just like 365 days ago, he watched his penalty fail to hit the target with Celtic now missing their last three penalities against the West Lothian side. Callum McGregor missed one in the encounter in March.

 

Advertisement goes here

Advertisement goes here

Other stories

Celtic’s chaotic transfer window continues to come under heavy scrutiny, with

Celtic’s summer transfer window came to a frustrating and chaotic close,

Breaking news