Auston Trusty has reflected on Celtic’s last-minute penalty against Motherwell.
In a decision that ruffled feathers in Scotland and beyond, Sam Nicholson was penalised for a handball in the final passage of play in the game.
Put simply, if the decision wasn’t made, Celtic wouldn’t have won the league. It was the turning point in the Scottish Premiership title race.
Reflecting on it, Trusty recalled that he thought it warranted a penalty for an elbow, let alone a handball.
The VAR audio confirms what we already knew… but hysterical reactions continue 👀
Auston Trusty on ‘humongous’ Celtic vs Motherwell penalty
Trusty told Charlie Mulgrew on Pitch to Par: “I think calls come back around, you know? Things get even at the end of the day.
“You know, I’ve had some calls against me this year that I have different opinions with.
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“So I think this is how things work. Things always kind of come back around, you hope at least. But obviously, that call…
“That was a humungous thing for our season, obviously. If we tied that game, we probably would’ve been in a lot more [of a] difficult situation.
“I thought [it was a penalty for an elbow]. Obviously, I got an elbow in the freaking nose, like here and there… I thought it was.
“I was on the ground, but I think it actually helped that I was on the ground because that gave him more time to notice it was a handball.
“I’ve seen people saying that I lifted his hand up… how the hell would I lift his hand up?!
“When I went down, I asked [the referee]. I was like, ‘it’s definitely a penalty.’, and then he said that he was checking for a handball.
“I was like, ‘he didn’t elbow me?!’ But he checked the handball and said he said he was going to the monitor.
“When you go to the monitor, a lot of the times you go: ‘They’re going to call it’, so you kind of just know. But then it was like, ‘Well, we have to score’.
“And then Kels steps up, and it takes some big cojones to go up there with that kind of pressure. Everything was on the line for that pen.
“And to sink it like he did… that shows the experience that he has.”
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Hearts reactions to Celtic penalty call vs Motherwell
Leading the disgruntled was Hearts boss Derek McInnes, who blasted the decision as “disgusting” in a hot-headed interview after his side’s win over Falkirk.
Hearts hero Ryan Stevenson also wasn’t happy, labelling it a “disgrace” and “garbage”. Even Gary Lineker slated it.
The media fury reached such a temperature that referee John Beaton’s address was leaked, leading the official to need security around his home.
However, Chris Sutton has called out high-profile pundits for their hysteria, saying that their pro-Hearts agenda is clouding their judgement.
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