Hearts manager Steven Naismith feels aggrieved after Celtic were awarded a penalty in the Bhoys’ 2-0 victory on Saturday.
James Penrice clearly handled the ball in the box after 51 minutes at Celtic Park, allowing Arne Engels to open his account in his first start for the Scottish champions.
It was given following a VAR review, and rightly so, despite Naismith’s complaints that it shouldn’t have been awarded.
The Tynecastle boss reckons there wasn’t much difference between that incident and another in the first half involving Liam Scales.
The referee initially blew for a Hearts spot-kick but replays showed the ball hit Scales above the ‘t-shirt line’ and so could not be considered a handball. A VAR review correctly denied the visitors.
Michael Stewart on Celtic and Hearts penalty claims
Speaking in response in response to Naismith’s radio interview, former Hearts man Michael Stewart reckoned there was no reason to criticise the officials.
He told BBC Scotland: “I can completely understand where the Hearts manager is coming from. But the difference was that it probably hits Liam Scales far enough up the arm that it negates anything else. It hits his shoulder so it’s not a penalty regardless of all the rest of it.
“Penrice – the comparison that Allan Preston was talking about with Connor Barron. Barron’s arm was really tight in against his chest. Penrice’s is not.
“Look, it’s a sore one and tough one from a Hearts perspective. It’s completely understandable you are going to try and draw comparisons. But the difference was that it hits Scales on the shoulder and it hits Penrice flush on the hand.”
Deflection tactics after another bad day for Hearts
Naismith has had a terrible start to the season. Hearts are rooted to the bottom of the Premiership and only have a single point to their name after five matches.
Having also lost in Europe and the Scottish League Cup, you can understand why he would want to deflect attention away from another defeat by dredging up complaints about an incident which, by the letter of the law, was a penalty.
The fact is that the officials got it spot on today, even if video evidence was required in both instances. The system worked the way it should.
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