It was another weekend of drama in the race for the Scottish Premiership title with Celtic, Hearts and Rangers all winning.
For only the second time this season, all three title chasers won on the same weekend, with leaders Hearts having to come from behind to beat Motherwell at Tynecastle.
But it came after Celtic loanee Stephen Welsh gave away a penalty in the 87th minute for kicking Pierre Landry Kabore in the head, and Dermot Gallagher backed the call despite former officials Steve Conroy and Des Roache stating otherwise.
“He (Welsh) goes to kick the ball, but catches the player on the back of the head,” said Gallagher. “He doesn’t get the ball.
“But it has to be given by VAR because you will never see it on-field.”
The initial on-field call was no penalty, with referee Matthew MacDermid waving play on, before he was told by VAR to intervene and change his call, which he did, and Lawrence Shankland put Hearts 2-1 ahead in the 87th minute before Kabore added a third in stoppage time.
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Dermot Gallagher backs Hearts’ penalty call as Stephen Welsh is punished
On social media, The Ref’s View stated that it’s ‘Not a penalty. Hearts player has endangered himself by trying to head the ball in the box; the defender is trying to clear the ball, which he is entitled to do. Absolutely unfair for him (Welsh) to be punished for that.’
However, Gallagher, speaking on the Ref Watch on Sky Sports News (13/04/26), saw it very differently and explained how VAR was important in this incident.
The former Premier League referee thinks MacDermid was ‘never’ going to see Welsh’s kick to Kabore’s head in real time, so VAR was crucially important.
That’s a set of officials offering differing views on the matter, because it was crucial, and Hearts maintain their lead at the top of the Premiership table.
But former Premier League forward Jay Bothroyd also sided with Gallagher by stating it’s ‘definitely a penalty.’
Gallagher: “Impossible for the referee to see. If you see the ball bounce, the referee is on the edge of the box.
“The ball goes missing. He (Welsh) goes to kick the ball, but catches the player on the back of the head. He doesn’t get the ball.
“But it has to be given by VAR because you will never see it on-field.”
Jay Bothroyd: “I agree. If he kicks the ball, then it’s different. But he has kicked his head. Missed the ball. So, yeah, definitely a penalty.”
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