KMI panel confirms Celtic penalty against Rangers was correct
The Scottish Football Association’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel has unanimously confirmed that Celtic were rightly awarded a penalty in their derby clash with Rangers.
Martin O’Neill’s side came from two goals down to earn a dramatic draw in last weekend’s Premiership showdown, with Reo Hatate scoring the late equaliser.
The Japanese midfielder eventually found the net after Jack Butland saved two earlier attempts from the spot, with Hatate converting from the rebound.
The penalty was given after Rangers defender Dujon Sterling blocked a header from Daizen Maeda with his arm before Butland gathered the ball. Referee John Beaton initially allowed play to continue, but the incident was reviewed by VAR, which advised the official to award the spot-kick.
Following a review of the incident, the KMI panel unanimously ruled, by a 3–0 vote, that Beaton made an error in not awarding the penalty at first. The panel also agreed that VAR was correct to intervene and that the final decision to give the penalty was the right one.
Celtic and Rangers will face each other again this Sunday in the Scottish Cup.
Don Robertson will take charge of the match, with Andrew Dallas serving as the VAR official and Matthew MacDermid acting as assistant.
Leave a Reply