Andy Walker has slammed some of the “outrageous” decisions made on weekend of officiating chaos in the Scottish Premiership as the former Celtic striker was left scratching his head over the performance of referee and VAR.
The pundit reckons Steven McLean got all THREE penalty awards wrong at Parkhead – albeit one was overturned thanks to a second check on the monitor – as well as Hibs striker Elie Youan’s two yellow cards which saw him sent off in the defeat for the Easter Road side.
Lee Johnson was livid after the match and chief executive Ben Kensell was said to have confronted officials. Dundee United and Motherwell were also furious over decisions and are now seeking answers from the SFA while Derek McInnes was apoplectic after the failure to award Kilmarnock a spot kick for an apparent handball by Andy Considine in their draw against St Johnstone. Walker ran through the fixtures that had so much controversy to give his view for Sky Sports.
Celtic v Hibs
Youan was sent off early for two bookings - his second for catching Cameron Carter-Vickers with a high boot after a foul on Carl Starfelt initially.. Hibs took the lead from the penalty spot after Starfelt was penalised for pulling Paul Hanlon’s shirt. Celtic then had a couple of spot kicks, the first for a foul by Hanlon on Carter-Vickers and then David Marshall on Liel Abada which was overturned.
Walker said: “We had some decisions that changed the course of the match. I don’t think Steven MacLean had a good performance at all. I thought all penalties were wrong but the first gave Hibs the opportunity to get in front. I hope we don’t get to see every tug of the shirt given as a penalty. I thought it was soft. And I thought the penalty Celtic were given was just incredibly soft. There is no foul from Paul Hanlon on Cameron Carter-Vickers.
“We’re setting a very low bar if that’s the kind of stuff you’re looking at. The refs were crying out for VAR to come into Scottish football but I don’t see it helping them at all. They’re not using it well. We’ve got to accept it’s a contact sport and we don’t want every pull of the jersey to be given as a penalty. And then we have the bar for some fouls, never mind yellow cards, that are incredibly low. I see officiating down south regularly and the laws of the game are applied differently.”
On the Marshall foul on Abada which was given as a spot kick and then reversed, Walker added: “It was just a really poor call from the referee in the first place. Liel Abada just stubbed his toe into the ground and it wasn’t a penalty so that was good use of VAR overturning that.”
And on Youan’s bookings, he said: “The yellow cards for Youan were outrageous. He didn’t deserve a yellow for his first challenge and certainly didn’t deserve a second yellow which meant he was sent off. I don’t think anyone would be saying anything if it was just given as a foul on Carl Starfelt on Youan for the first one. There’s no need for a yellow card. And then in his clash for Carter-Vickers, I thought Youan himself was fouled. And for the second I look at where Carter-Vickers head is, it’s so low. Youan is going for the ball and it’s just incredibly harsh to give him a second yellow and of course VAR can’t look at second yellows.”
Motherwell v Rangers
A lot of debate has centred around the third goal for the visitors with Fashion Sakala looking like he might have been offside in the build-up but Walker was asked about the second half red card for Callum Slattery for catching Todd Cantwell with a flailing arm which saw him receive a second booking from Nick Walsh.
Walker said: “No wonder Callum Slattery was frustrated because he misses games and it was a ridiculous decision. There was no aggressive throw of the arm. No complaints over the first yellow but surely referees must realise that you have to be absolutely sure with a second yellow and the card came out far too quickly and it was the wrong decision.”
Dundee United v St Mirren
The Tangerines were raging when the Buddies were awarded a penalty for an alleged foul by Loick Ayina on Curtis Main. Walker said: “It’s utterly baffling. To give the penalty in the first place is baffling and then for VAR to check it and say ‘Yeah, you’ve actually made the right decision’ is so frustrating. It’s never a penalty in a million years.
Kilmarnock v St Johnstone
Andy Considine appeared to handle the ball as he rose high to clear and Walker said: “This decision is generally outrageous. It’s utterly baffling. When you see the ball coming in and see the height of Andy Considine’s hand it’s not just above his head - it’s completely outstretched. It’s like a basketball movements where he is just slapping the ball away. For the referee not to see it is bad enough but for VAR to look at it and not ask him to go over and give the penalty or at least see it again is genuinely outrageous."
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