Mark Clattenburg’s take on Liam Scales’ Celtic penalty appeal vs Hibs raises fresh VAR questions

VAR is once again in the spotlight in Scotland after Mark Clattenburg criticised the officials for overlooking Liam Scales’ penalty appeal in Celtic’s defeat to Hibernian.

The former FIFA referee had already questioned the decision to send off Auston Trusty at Celtic Park, describing the defender as “unlucky” to see red. Now, following Celtic’s loss to Hibernian, Clattenburg has turned his attention to the penalty incident involving Scales — which came shortly after VAR intervened to upgrade Trusty’s booking.

Clattenburg believes Scales was unfortunate not to be awarded a spot-kick, suggesting that while the on-field referee may have missed it in real time, VAR should have stepped in.

Celtic supporters are likely to await further explanation from refereeing chief Willie Collum when the incident is reviewed publicly, but frustration continues to mount.

With VAR decisions appearing inconsistent across the league, questions are growing over how the system is being applied in the SPFL — not just in Celtic’s case, but more broadly during a tense run-in to the season.