Sam Nicholson has said that the ball ‘categorically’ didn’t hit his hand in the Celtic box against Motherwell.
In a decision that drew global attention, VAR determined from evidence that the ball had touched the winger’s hand in an unnatural position.
Nicholson — a boyhood Hearts fan who made over 100 appearances for the Tynecastle club — claims that he is the only person that knows the truth.
Whilst this is technically true, whether or not he is actually telling the truth is a different question.
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Sam Nicholson: the ball categorically never hit my hand
Nicholson told The Herald: “I can categorically say, it never hit my hand.
“I was on the pitch with my son after the game kicking the ball about, and our media guy showed it to me.
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“A couple of the Celtic boys came over and went, ‘That’s crazy.’ I went, ‘Oh, thanks!’.
“It’s not great obviously to be in the middle of it all. I suppose stuff like that can come with the job. I obviously have my views on it.
“At the time, I wanted to speak out because I was getting questions. Because of the reaction, I was advised not to comment too much, and I obviously didn’t want to get myself in trouble.
“But if I’m honest, I thought we’d got a free kick on me because I jumped up first. If me and you were to jump up in the middle of the pitch to challenge for the ball and I jump up first and end up on my back, I think normally, I would have got a foul.
“That’s where my confusion was because I’ve seen them given loads in the middle of the pitch if someone jumps up and the other person bumps into them. It is usually a foul for the person that jumps up first.
“So, I was thinking it was a foul to us, and I thought I had bought us some time to be honest!
“When the ref said at first he was checking for a handball, I was like, ‘Oh, right, I never handballed it, so it’s fine.’ Then when it was given, I was obviously confused.
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“I spoke to Andy [Halliday] right after the game, and he told me, ‘They’re saying that it hit your hand’, and I was like, ‘No it never!’ And then I started thinking, ‘Did it?’ I actually started questioning it, but then I realised it literally couldn’t have.
“The weird thing is, still images can make it look like that, but football isn’t played in still images. It categorically did not hit my hand.
“I spoke to the ref and found out from his response back to me, and I genuinely thought, ‘This is mental’.
“People are going to have their opinions on it and I’m absolutely fine with that, but I know what happened, and that’s all that matters.”
The relevant rules Celtic’s penalty call against Motherwell
The handball was ruled punishable due to “touch[ing] the ball with their hand/arm when it has made their body unnaturally bigger. “
As per the rules “A player is considered to have made their body unnaturally bigger when the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation.
“By having their hand/arm in such a position, the player takes a risk of their hand/arm being hit by the ball and being penalised.”
Additionally, despite talk of the call being ruled as a “clear and obvious error”, referees are also sent to the monitor in the case of a “serious missed incident” relating to the penalty.
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