There didn’t appear to be any refereeing controversies on Sunday but it’s never that simple with the Old Firm
Our resident ref Des Roache is on duty for Record Sport this afternoon
Referee John Beaton and assistants and the VAR team received high praise for their handling of Sunday’s dramatic Old Firm derby at Ibrox.
But even when the spoils are shared, Rangers and Celtic fans are rarely content when it comes to Glasgow’s two fierce rivals going head to head.
The one big decision in Govan came at the death when Celtic were awarded a penalty from which they earned a draw with Reo Hatate netting after initially seeing a couple of efforts saved by Jack Butland.
It came after Dujon Sterling handled James Forrest’s cross. While Beaton initially missed the incident, Steven MacLean in Clydesdale House referred him to the monitor, and Beaton pointed to the spot.
So all good in the end? Well, not quite. Three incidents in particular have been highlighted by both sets of fans which they believed could have been punishable on the day.
Des Roache, who alongside fellow former Grade One official Steve Conroy runs the Ref’s View podcast, was on duty for Record Sport on Sunday as part of our live blog team for the big match. And we put all three to him to deliver his verdict.
Tochi Chukwuani on Liam Scales – 10 minutes
The Rangers midfielder appears to wrap his arams around the Irishman early in the game and wrestle the Celtic defender to the ground.
And this is the one incident of the three that the ex whistler reckons could have been a spot kick. He said: “This is more of a call for a penalty then the other two as he’s being held but I can understand it both ways.”
Dujon Sterling on Sebastian Tounetki – 82 minutes
This incident occurred in the 82nd minute of the game as the Rangers full back jostled with the Tunisian winger as he made his way into the box.
Sterling appeared to use his strength to hold off his man but former FIFA official Keith Hackett told Football Insider it was a certain penalty.
He said: “Well, I do hope that Willie Collum, the Head of Referees, will look at this and enquire of the referee and VAR how they failed to award what is clearly a penalty kick. The defender holding and impeding his opponent with contact. That is a foul and should have resulted in a penalty kick.”
However, our man Roache disagrees. He said: “No penalty. Both players are tussling together with Sterling being the stronger.”
Julian Araujo on Nico Raskin – 95 minutes
Rangers desperately appealed for a spot kick in the dying seconds after Celtic had levelled when the Belgian midfielder attempted an overhead kick but appeared to be pushed in the back by Celtic’s Mexican full-back.
But Roache said: “The push looks worse in slow motion – no penalty for me.”