Amid all the excitement of Celtic’s title win, it seems that the Scottish Cup win over St Johnstone is still being spoken about.
Celtic battered St Johnstone inside Hampden as the Hoops recorded a 5-0 win to put Brendan Rodgers into yet another Hampden final.
In the game, there were two VAR incidents that hogged the headlines as St Johnstone had a goal disallowed and James Forrest’s Celtic penalty award was overturned.
However, it was what the match referee said about Adam Idah at the St Johnstone goal that will raise the eyebrow’s of much of the Celtic support.
Celtic’s Adam Idah was ‘looking’ for the foul vs St Johnstone ‘all day’
At first glance, many Celtic fans would probably not have seen the foul on Idah. But Andrew Dallas on VAR did and what the referee said about the Hoops striker will raise some eyebrows.
In the audio released on the SFA’s The VAR Review show, Callum Scott said, “No, He’s looking for that all day.
“Andy, it feels minimum contact and he exaggerates it and falls down. On-field decision is a goal.
Speaking to Engels, the referee added, “It’s exaggerated, Arne.”
What a comment to make. Suggesting Idah went down easy when he was in full control of that situation is very bizarre.
So as the goal was overturned, what did VAR tell Scott to do to make the on-field referee change his mind?
What VAR said about foul on Celtic striker Adam Idah vs St Johnstone
As every Celtic supporter knows, the St Johnstone goal was correctly disallowed. So how did VAR convince Callum Scott that Idah was not ‘looking for that all day’?
Dallas said, “So Callum can you just tell me you’ve seen the two hands in the back pushing him?”
Scott: “I thought the contact was minimal and he’s falling forward while the hands are on him which is why he goes down. I thought it was exaggerated.”
Dallas: “I think it’s a foul. I think there’s there’s a clear image of two hands in the back and he pushes him to the ground. I don’t see the Celtic player going going forward.
“If anything the push makes him go forward do you agree?”
Speaking to the referee, Andrew Dallas who is on VAR says, “Callum’s looking through him. Callum’s not looking side on.
“There’s two hand two arms clearly on the back and there’s a pushing motion. ‘Callum it’s Andrew. I’m going to recommend an onfield review to disallow a goal for a foul in the build-up.
“If you want to come across I’ll let you see it. You can see that the Celtic player is leaning back the way. He’s not leaning forward and the point of contact comes but the two arms in the back and he pushes him as he’s trying to play the ball.”
Scott: “Aye ok mate. I’m going to disallow the goal and start with a free kick in the centre circle.”
Thankfully, the right decision was made as Willie Collum also explained how the referees positioning let him down on this decision as he couldn’t see the contact on Idah.
With VAR seemingly improving in Scotland, it seems that there is still a long way to go to improving refereeing standards as Collum’s verdict on the referee at this decision shows,
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