Celtic have been cited four times in the Scottish FA’s latest Key Match Incident Review Panel Outcomes after their late victory against Ross County last weekend.
The Bhoys left it late in Dingwall, with Nicolas Kuhn the match-winner on a day where they had to show resolve to overturn a goal deficit against a spirited opponent.
In the first half, Ronan Hale’s penalty put Ross County in front against Celtic at the second attempt after a re-take was ordered following Kasper Schmeichel’s initial save due to the veteran moving off his line too early.
Scottish Premiership matches rarely pass without incident; there is always something to cast your eye over that may cause a little bit of debate among the public eye.
These are the four Key Match Indicent outcomes included by the SFA from Celtic’s victory over Ross County.
Kasper Schmeichel’s role in penalty retake and Scales handball
It goes without saying, but Schmeichel’s initial save being ruled out for coming off his line generated the most discussion after last weekend’s encounter.
Per The Scottish FA’s KMI report, the on-field decision was labelled incorrect by the panel, but VAR’s intervention was unanimously agreed upon as the correct outcome. Their notes read: “The panel deemed the on-field decision as incorrect and supported the VAR’s decision to intervene to award the
retake of the penalty kick.”
On the Liam Scales handball that led to the spot-kick, again, the panel identified the on-field decision as the wrong one, but in their eyes, VAR’s rectification of the situation to award a penalty made sense.
The following explanation stated: “The panel deemed the on-field decision as incorrect and supported the VAR’s decision to intervene to award the penalty. They noted that the Celtic defender’s arm was high and outstretched making his body unnaturally bigger.”
The other two Celtic flashpoints against Ross County
Nicolas Kuhn was involved in a VAR check for a potential red card check for an off-the-ball coming together with Conor Randall in the second half.
On this occasion, the panel acknowledged both the on-field and off-field viewpoints as correct, and the German winger’s actions weren’t deemed to have included any excessive force.
They expanded, stating: “The panel deemed the on-field decision as correct highlighting there was no excessive force or brutality in the Celtic player’s movement towards the Ross County player.”
Finally, Ross County number 20 Kacper Lopata was involved in a VAR check for a potential penalty that wasn’t awarded with the panel in full agreement, indicating ‘the on-field decision was unanimously supported’ in the review.
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