Celtic midfielder Arne Engels doesn’t think Rangers’ cup final penalty appeals matter because the Hoops would have come back anyway had the Ibrox club gone 4-3 up from the spot.
At the beginning of the first period of extra time, with the score poised at 3-3, Liam Scales looked to have tugged the shirt of Vaclav Cerny just inside the Hoops’ box.
While nothing was initially given, Head of Referees Willie Collum has since admitted on the VAR Review Show that a penalty should have been awarded, deeming the incident’s dismissal as ‘unacceptable’.
Engels, however, doesn’t think it would have mattered if Rangers got a penalty and scored because his side would have shown their powers of recovery anyway, just like they did previously in the match.
He said (Glasgow Times): “If Rangers had got a penalty and scored, we could still have come back and won the game, 100 per cent.
“We’ve already shown that a few times, that we can come back.
“We won the cup, which is the most important thing. I don’t want to talk about anything else. We’ve shown that we have such a strong squad who performs in the big occasions.”
After winning his first major honour as a Celt, the 21-year-old also took time to hit out at the tireless post-cup final media narrative surrounding Rangers’ penalty appeal.
Instead of honing in on the calls for a spot-kick, Engels believes the focus should have been on his history-making teammate, James Forrest.
The veteran winger is now the joint most decorated player in Celtic’s history, drawing level with Lisbon Lion Bobby Lennox on 25 major honours after last Sunday’s triumph.
Engels thinks more light should have been shone on the 33-year-old, nevermind a penalty appeal which, come the end of extra time, might not have even mattered.
