Mark Clattenburg questions penalty decision against Celtic F.C. in Aberdeen clash

Former FIFA referee Mark Clattenburg has suggested that the penalty awarded to Aberdeen F.C. against Celtic F.C. was a soft decision.

Referee Nick Walsh pointed to the spot after Liam Scales was judged to have clipped Toyosi Olusanya inside the penalty area at Pittodrie. The resulting penalty was converted by Kevin Nisbet, bringing Aberdeen level during the match.

Despite the setback, Celtic eventually secured a 2–1 victory and climbed to second place in the league table. However, Clattenburg believes the Hoops might feel unfortunate not to have kept a clean sheet due to the nature of the penalty decision.

Speaking about the incident, Clattenburg explained that once Walsh awarded the penalty, VAR was unlikely to intervene because the contact — though minimal — had already been judged as a foul. He added that if the referee had initially waved play on, VAR probably would not have stepped in to overturn that decision either.

Clattenburg noted that Olusanya appeared to back into Scales before the Celtic defender attempted to play the ball and made slight contact. While the defender took a risk by swinging his foot, the attacker was clever in moving his leg across to create the contact that led to the decision.

Celtic penalty shout dismissed

There was also a moment when Celtic appealed for a penalty of their own. A cross from Sebastian Tounekti struck the arm of Jack Milne inside the Aberdeen box.

However, replays showed Milne’s arm was tucked close to his body, leaving him little chance to move it away. Pundits Chris Sutton, Kris Boyd and Johnny Hayes all agreed during Sky Sports coverage that the referee made the correct call in not awarding Celtic a penalty, as the defender’s hand was in a natural position.