Former referees have offered a relaxed verdict on a handball incident in Celtic’s win over St Mirren at Hampden, but their own words leave a clear contradiction between what they saw and what the laws actually say.
The discussion centres on St Mirren’s Mark O’Hara’s handball during the clash with Celtic, a moment that has been causing discussion online with the Hoops support.
O’Hara jumped up and caught the ball while it was still in the field of play and then the St Mirren player threw it out of touch. The referee Matthew McDairmid awarded a throw-in but failed to book O’Hara for the infringement.
The key issue is not just the decision itself, but how it has been explained afterwards.
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Celtic incident exposes gap between admission and action
Former SFA officials reviewing the moment openly acknowledged the possibility of a deliberate act, with Des Roache stating, “I thought that O’Hara had deliberately caught the ball.”
That should have framed the rest of the analysis, but it quickly shifted away from the what the punishment for the handball should have been.
Roache added, “I’m quite happy to think that Matthew’s managed the game within the game and O’Hara has done it accidentally because he thinks he’s out with the field of play.”
“I disagree with it, but I’m not making an issue over it. I’m not making an issue over it. These things happen.”
Under IFAB Law 12, a handball offence occurs when a player deliberately moves their hand or arm towards the ball.
That definition is clear and leaves little room for reinterpretation once intent is part of the discussion.
The analysis instead moves away from whether the law has been met and towards whether the moment should carry weight.
‘Spirit of the game’ argument fails Celtic under IFAB rules
The defence of the decision leans heavily on interpretation, with Steve Conroy stating, “Not all handballs are a caution.”
He continued, “He chose not to caution them. Spirit of the game. I don’t have an issue.
“I’m glad that he chose not to caution him because I don’t think that game really merited a red card.”
That is where that stance becomes difficult to ignore.
O’Hara was later booked in the 95th minute, which means an earlier caution for the handball would have resulted in a second yellow card and a dismissal.
This moves the discussion away from interpretation and into direct match impact. The issue is no longer whether the incident felt significant, but whether the written law was applied consistently.
Now, the handball did not stop a promising attack or prevent a goal, but what ignoring it does is set a precedent on how future handballs like this will be dealt with.
And for a show like The Ref’s View which is designed to critique refereeing standards to agree with a referee ignoring the rules of the game, that is ironic considering all they have done is hammer referees all season for making mistakes like this.
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