BBC pundit Michael Stewart has given his take on yesterday’s VAR carnage at Tynecastle, and it’s one that’s likely to baffle the Celtic support who watched their team beat Hearts in a whirlwind seven goal thriller.
It was the first televised Premiership fixture to feature VAR following the introduction of the technology at Easter Road on Friday night for St Johnstone’s win over Hibernian, any hopes that it would quell Scotland’s often endless refereeing discourse were quickly dashed as the Tynecastle clash was marred by several blunders from referee Nick Walsh.
Chief amongst them was an unpunished handball by Hearts defender Michael Smith on the edge of the home box to half James Forrest’s clipped past, but Stewart argued that the maligned referee and VAR team got the decision correct.
Speaking on BBC Sportscene (from 15:30) He said: “Nick Walsh again is in the perfect position and I think he comes to the right decision. They were very quick with this one. You tell me where Michael Smith’s arms are meant to be? It’s not a case of not hitting the ball, his arm is in a completely natural position.
“I can understand why some people see this as a penalty because his arms are swinging, he’s moving his body, the rules are if it’s a deliberate handball or if he’s making his body bigger and it’s not part of a natural movement. Anything that Michael Smith has done there is a completely normal action, hence why its not a penalty kick.”
“He doesn’t move his arm up towards the ball. He’s moving his arm because the ball hit him and he’s moving his arm away from it.”
Despite his take on the penalty non-award, Stewart agreed that Celtic were right to feel aggrieved by Anthony Ralston’s disallowed goal at 1-0, Walsh blew for a foul in the Hearts box before the ball reached the full-back who scored with a diving header, with the referee panned by fans and pundits alike for blowing early.
Stewart said: “There’s a pull on Snodgrass’ jersey, which has no effect, and on Kiomourtzoglou, there’s nothing, really.
“You could make the case that there’s a foul there, unquestionably, the pull on the jersey, he (Giorgos Giakoumakis) tangles with Kiomourtzoglou, I think it’s soft.
“From Celtic’s perspective, or if that was any club, you’d be feeling hard done by for that goal to be disallowed.”
As anticipated, VAR’s introduction to Scottish football has been anything but smooth, and few will be surprised by the carnage it contributed to in yesterday’s madcap game at Tynecastle.
Whilst issues over waiting times will eventually be ironed out and referees will adapt to using the technology, it’s hard to escape the verdict that Scotland’s officials are simply not of the required standard, and VAR in many cases will only exacerbate existing issues in the top-flight.
For Celtic, it was a hugely significant result, and managing to find a way to win despite the impact of the new technology and all the subsequent noise is a credit to Ange Postecoglou and his players, who face Shakhtar Donetsk and Livingston in the next week in a huge few days in the club’s season.
In other news: Robbie Neilson’s bizarre claim after Celtic beat Hearts yet again
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