Celtic’s 2-0 win over Motherwell on Saturday has since been clouded in controversy following the penalty incident that I’m sure you all know about by now.
‘Well striker Kevin van Veen brought the ball down – with his arm, some might say – and flicked the ball on to Boli Bolingoli’s arm, which was indeed clear to see on a television screen, but not from the referee’s point of view.
The nature of the decision has been contested, however if the ball was adjudged to have hit van Veen’s arm first, then you could suppose the decisions cancelled each other out.
Celtic cruised to a 2-0 win in Lanarkshire as they keep the pressure on the top three of Hearts, Dundee United and theRangers – with Celtic boasting a superior goal difference by seven and remain are now just four points behind in the race.
But Motherwell midfielder Callum Slattery believes the game could have been oh so different if the decision had gone the way of the home side at Fir Park.
MOTHERWELL, SCOTLAND – OCTOBER 16: David Turnbull of Celtic scores his team’s second goal during the Cinch Scottish Premiership match between Motherwell FC and Celtic FC at on October 16, 2021 in Motherwell, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
“It was on myself and I thought it was a foul but the ref hasn’t given it and then they have countered and scored,” he said to the media after the game.
“Sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don’t. I thought it was a foul but I am not going to say that is the reason for the scoreline.
“A lot of people around the ground thought it was a penalty. I haven’t actually seen it back myself but from first view I thought it was a penalty, but the referee has missed that one.
“The referee has got some things right and some things wrong but I did think that one was a penalty.”
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