Shay Given admits he was ‘raging’ at what he saw at Rugby Park despite being a ‘Celtic fan’

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A lot was going on at Rugby Park for Celtic over the weekend.

From the Celtic fan protests, the awarding of the stoppage-time penalty, and the three points for Brendan Rodgers’ side, it certainly got people talking.

You could argue that John Beaton’s, via the intervention of VAR, call to punish Kilmarnock’s Lewis Mayo for handball in the dying minutes and award a penalty was the biggest talking point.

Ex-referees and the SFA have had their say, but even former goalkeeper Shay Given couldn’t believe what he saw.

• READ MORE: ‘Such a brass neck’… Open Goal pundits pull up Celtic’s Daizen Maeda for what he did vs Kilmarnock

Shay Given on Celtic being awarded a penalty against Kilmarnock

One man who has stuck to his guns is Chris Sutton, and he told BBC Radio 5 Live that he still believes it was a penalty to the dismay of his fellow pundits.

One of them included Given, who, as a Celtic fan, didn’t want to speak against the club, but admitted that he couldn’t believe Killie were punished for that moment.

The former Republic of Ireland keeper stated that he was ‘raging’ for Kilmarnock boss Stuart Kettlewell because he ‘spoke so well’ after the match.

Given: “Did you see the goal, the Kilmarnock, the penalty at the end of the game? 96th minute, and I’m a Celtic fan, so like I shouldn’t really, but the Kilmarnock players, and the manager after that. He spoke so well, the manager, after, because I was raging for him, it’s such a big decision.

“The ref didn’t think it was on play (target), and it’s hit him (Mayo) from half a yard away. For me, that is not a penalty on any day of the week. It was just a crazy decision.”

Given: “Did you think it was a penalty? Yes or no?”

Sutton: ‘Well, it’s what?’

Given: “Yes or no?”

Sutton: “I thought the position of the arm caused the defender a problem. I thought the ball was going in. I thought it was a penalty. Yeah.”

Given: “Oh my god.”

Sutton hides from pundits after Celtic penalty claim

The other problem stemming from this penalty call is what the managers were told in the summer by the referees.

It seems as though they were briefed that this type of incident wouldn’t result in a penalty being awarded.

When Sutton tried to explain this further, he was shot down by his fellow pundits, even though he told them, ‘don’t shoot the messenger.’

Sutton: “The sore point about that, I think the Kilmarnock manager, Stuart Kettlewell, after that, in the meetings that he had with the referees before the start of the season, that type of penalty wouldn’t have been awarded, because it took a ricochet and his hand was outside of the silhouette.

“But I think, apparently, the position of the arm. That’s what they said the referees.”

Presenter Chapman: “Oh, behave.”

Sutton: “This is what they said, don’t shoot the messenger.”

Chapman: “You can’t think that was a penalty. It came off his teammate’s boot from a yard away.”

Sutton: “Can we move on now. I was just hiding because I know you (Chapman) and Shay are so angry at it. I was just trying to get out of the firing line.”