Ex-SFA official’s verdict on Callum McGregor’s disallowed Celtic goal vs St Mirren

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Callum McGregor thought he had tied up all three points for Celtic with his goal against St Mirren at the weekend.

The Celtic captain sprung to life late in the game and looked to have scored the goal to get the Hoops’ opening game against St Mirren off to a flyer.

However, the intervention of VAR meant that McGregor was denied his 75th Celtic goal and it took a late strike by Luke McCowan to seal the win.

And here, former SFA referee Steve Conroy explains why the Celtic Park goal was chalked off through the latest episode of The Ref’s View podcast.

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The ‘laws of the game’ that disallowed Callum McGregor’s Celtic goal vs St Mirren

In the aftermath of the match, there were not many Celtic supporters who disagreed with the decision but there is a rule that ‘specifically’ meant any goal scored like that will be chalked off.

The host of The Ref’s View said, “Myself and Steve [Conroy] both agreed that the ball hit Callum McGregor’s elbow.

“Therefore, it should have been disallowed per the laws of the game, where it specifically says if the ball touches your arm in any way and it leads to a goal, the goal should be disallowed.

“I thought overall, Don had a pretty good game, other than maybe a booking or two that maybe shouldn’t have been.

“Just again, I think frustration in the crowd during the afternoon meant the referee was getting a bit tough.

“I don’t think Don had his worst game at all. I thought he was fairly solid.”

Celtic must ensure VAR doesn’t derail title bid

Celtic need to make sure that any VAR decision that could happen in the future doesn’t affect the outcome of any match.

That decision could have cost Celtic two points had Luke McCowan not struck late on.

The fact of the matter is that the St Mirren win should have been out of sight well before McCowan’s goal and that is something Brendan Rodgers must look at.

The number of chances missed and created must be a concern for the Celtic manager and depth must be added to the squad so that there is quality in the squad that Rodgers can call upon from the bench to change the game.

Celtic didn’t have that on Sunday and Rodgers must make sure that improves before the transfer window closes or the next VAR decision could end up costing the club points, or even a trophy.