Celtic created controversy on two counts in their win at Kilmarnock on Sunday.
Firstly, the Celtic fan protest created countless headlines as much of the travelling away support made their feelings perfectly clear against the board.
Secondly, the last minute penalty won by Celtic after a Kilmarnock handball delivered some excellent drama as new Parkhead striker Kelechi Iheanacho stepped up to expertly rifle home the spot kick.
It was a debut Iheanacho will never forget and the result will be ingrained in Kilmarnock manager Stuart Kettlewell’s mind after he blew a gasket over the decision to award Celtic the match-winning penalty.
So to get a neutral view on the decision, 67 Hail Hail decided to contact former FIFA referee Mark Clattenburg and what he said will raise Celtic fans’ eyebrows.
Mark Clattenburg explains why Celtic penalty vs Kilmarnock was a ‘poor decision’
VAR and refereeing standards are often held in contempt in Scotland so it’s refreshing to get a view from a former referee with no affiliation to our game.
So when Clattenburg was asked about the penalty Celtic were awarded, the ex-Premier League referee was not impressed with VAR’s intervention.
Clattenburg told 67 Hail Hail, “It’s a poor decision by VAR to recommend a review for a handball and award a penalty.
“The ball is struck from short distance and comes off his teammates leg onto the arm which is close to his body and therefore not making his body unnaturally bigger.
“The handball law is a one that causes frustration as it’s applied in different ways and there is no consistency.
“The VAR thought it was a shot at goal and therefore the threshold to award a penalty is lower but as it comes off his teammate and onto the arm, it makes the decision more harsh.”
What Kilmarnock manager Stuart Kettlewell said about Celtic penalty call
As previously said, Killie boss Kettlewell was also unimpressed with the Celtic penalty call as he called out the officials’ contradictory standards.
Kettlewell raged, “There’s just amazement that it’s awarded as a penalty.
“The reason why is we sat at a meeting at the start of the season, and we were told that if a ball ricochets off an opponent player or your own player from such distance, which the two players are almost touching each other trying to block the ball, and the ball’s going across the goal, it’s not going into the net, then that’s not going to be a penalty anymore.
“That’s what myself, I heard that the staff heard that the players heard that. So again, it’s where we come back round in a circle and we ask for confirmation. Is that the case, or is it not the case?”
We said at the time the penalty decision did look harsh but when you look at the number of handballs within this game and spot kicks Celtic have been denied on numerous occasions, these things even themselves out over the course of a season, right?
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