Former Ibrox star Stevie Naismith claims Celtic wee every lucky not to concede a penalty in the first half against Dundee Utd when the game was poised at 1-1.

The game would finish a draw but the Hearts player believes Celtic have got away with one when Cameron-Carter Vickers brought Nicky Clark down in the box

Kevin Clancy waved play on but a case could be made for a penalty being given

“It’s a stonewall penalty,” Naismith said on Sportscene. “Yes, the referee has a lot of bodies in front of him, but he should not be getting that wrong.

“It was such a big decision in the context of the game.”

Verdict

If it was against Celtic, I would certainly feel aggrieved if we didn’t get the penalty.

Celtic don’t get many refereeing decisions for them like that and will count themselves lucky Clancy or the linesman didn’t flag for the penalty.

It was a frustrating afternoon for Celtic who huffed and puffed in the second half but ultimately dropped another two points – this time at home.

Celtic trail hearts and Hibs by five points and their Glasgow rivals be six. It’s a long way back at the moment.