Motherwell player Andy Halliday has revealed what the consensus was among the home side players after Celtic were awarded a penalty in the dying embers of their Scottish Premiership match.
On Wednesday, the Hoops went head-to-head with the Well, looking to go into the final day of the season one point behind Hearts. Elliot Watt struck first to down Martin O’Neill’s side, but Daizen Maeda equalised before half-time.
Benjamin Nygren struck the visitors into the lead just before the hour mark, but Liam Gordon levelled things in the final five minutes of normal time. Then, in injury time, the Celts were awarded a penalty after a handball in the box, which Kelechi Iheanacho converted.
There was outrage across the footballing world, with many pundits and fans feeling as though John Beaton’s decision was harsh. Halliday, who wasn’t involved in the game but was with the squad, has revealed what the Motherwell players were thinking after the last-minute scenes.
Speaking on Open Goal, he said: “We’ve not properly seen it back yet, so I’m not going to give my opinion until I do. I’m only going to tell you what has basically been said.
“So, basically, the VAR, I think they’ve seen it as a handball. Obviously, the boys are not happy because they feel like Sam [Nicholson] has went to jump, [Auston] Trusty has jumped from underneath him and lifted his hand towards the ball.
“But Sam says he doesn’t even think it hits his hand; it hits his head.”
Unlucky decision to go against Motherwell
It is an unlucky decision for Motherwell to concede. We have seen decisions like this go either way across the course of the season, but some of the outrage across the footballing world has been questionable.
However you feel about Celtic’s penalty kick, the SFA revealed on Friday that Beaton and his family had to be put under police protection due to his personal information being leaked online. This is an outrageous response to a footballing decision, and no one should be scared to do their job.
There will be more eyes on the refereeing team than ever this Saturday when the Hoops take on Hearts at Celtic Park. We could see a very different game, as no one will want to make a definitive decision that could be seen as going in favour of either team.
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