Dermot Gallagher insists English Premier League referees would have awarded a penalty for Michael Smith’s handball against Celtic on VAR debut weekend in the Premiership but says a “slightly different tolerance level” saw the Hearts man escape.
The former top whistler assessed big decisions over the first round of fixtures using the video technology with the ball striking Smith’s arm from James Forrest’s cross not even considered worthy of a full check from VAR official Steven McLean. Asked about that incident on his weekly Sky Sports Ref Watch, Gallagher said: “In the Premier League that would have been a penalty. It bounces up, his arm is out. It’s not massively out but that’s what they do in Scotland where they have a slightly different tolerance level to where the arm is out.”
Anthony Ralston had a goal disallowed after a foul in the build up with many believing it had been wrongly chopped off for offside. Gallagher said: “The referee gives a foul early. He whistles very early before the ball goes in the net. He doesn’t give offside but it’s for a foul on Giakoumakis. The check is for offside as a matter of a course but the referee has whistled so it eliminated that.”
