A newly-formed Scottish FA panel has determined that both key handball decisions during Celtic’s 2-0 victory over Hearts at Parkhead last Saturday were correct. Steven Naismith’s Heart will feel cheated at Parkhead after the VAR overturned their penalty and awarded Celtics.
This ruling comes from the recently established Key Match Incident (KMI) Review Panel, which now meets weekly to assess major incidents from the previous weekend’s fixtures.
The panel will vote on whether the original on-field decision, and any subsequent VAR interventions, were justified.
Comprising five members, the panel includes three independent figures with notable careers in Scottish football, such as coaches, former players, and media representatives, along with one SFA representative and one individual representing SPFL clubs.
This structure replaces the Independent Review Panel (IRP), which was introduced last year but met far less frequently, convening every two to three months. Each panel member casts a vote on key match incidents, with the final decision reached by a majority vote.
The inaugural meeting of the KMI Panel took place on Thursday to review incidents from the weekend of September 14-15. Two particularly contentious handball incidents from the Celtic vs Hearts match were under scrutiny.
In the first half of the match, referee Colin Steven awarded Hearts a penalty after Lawrence Shankland’s header hit the arm of Celtic defender Liam Scales inside the box.
However, the decision was overturned following a VAR review. The panel unanimously agreed that this was the correct outcome.
Their report stated: “The panel agreed this was a tough call for the referee but supported that VAR intervened and overturned the penalty kick for handball. The distance from the attacking player to the defender is too close and he has no time to react. The panel were not convinced that the ball struck a punishable part of the arm.”
Later in the second half, referee Steven was again called to the VAR monitor after initially failing to award Celtic a penalty when James Penrice blocked Nicolas Kuhn’s cross with his arm.
After reviewing the footage, he awarded a spot-kick, which Arne Engels converted, putting Celtic ahead 1-0. Substitute Luke McCowan later added a second goal to secure victory for the defending champions.
While the KMI panel backed this decision as well, it was not unanimous. One panel member believed the penalty should not have been awarded.
The report elaborated: “The panel discussed this decision at length with the majority (4:1) deeming the onfield decision incorrect and believed the Assistant Referee was more of the lead on this one due to positioning. The majority (4:1) believed this was a correct VAR intervention to award the penalty, noting that the defender made himself bigger and that his arm is out from the body.”
In total, the KMI panel reviewed 32 incidents across six Premiership matches. They concluded that only one decision had been incorrect: when referee Matthew MacDermid failed to send off St Mirren’s Shaun Rooney for what appeared to be a deliberate kick at Kilmarnock striker Kyle Vassell. VAR was also criticised for not calling MacDermid to the monitor to review the incident.
The report noted: “The panel unanimously deemed the on-field decision not to show a straight red card as incorrect, noting that the St Mirren player clearly kicks the Kilmarnock player twice with force. All of the panel stated that VAR’s decision not to intervene was incorrect, deeming the incident as violent conduct and a clear and obvious error.”
This new weekly panel promises a more consistent and timely approach to reviewing controversial moments in Scottish football, with the goal of improving overall officiating and VAR usage throughout the Premiership.