The latest episode of the Scottish Football Association’s VAR Review show has arrived, with referee Willie Collum addressing two contentious decisions involving Celtic.
Hosted by Gordon Duncan, the November edition focuses on Daizen Maeda’s disallowed goal against Motherwell and Reo Hatate’s controversial tackle on Kilmarnock’s Liam Donnelly.
The SFA has already acknowledged that Celtic should have been awarded a penalty in the Maeda incident at Fir Park and that Hatate should have received a red card for his challenge.
Now, Collum has reinforced those conclusions with detailed explanations of the referee and VAR errors.
Collum on Daizen Maeda’s Disallowed Goal Against Motherwell
In the match against Motherwell, Celtic’s Daizen Maeda was fouled inside the penalty area by right-back Stephen O’Donnell, but no penalty was awarded, and Maeda’s subsequent accidental handball saw his goal disallowed.
The VAR team deemed the collision between Maeda and O’Donnell to be a normal coming-together, a decision Collum has now declared incorrect.
“So for us, the first part is straightforward, it’s a disallowed goal,” said Collum.
“But then the VAR and AVAR should then immediately go into a check regarding a possible penalty. They’ve listened to the referee’s on-field communication, they have given a goal, they’ve not identified the handball.
“And the match referee has also communicated that he thinks it is normal contact between the defender and the attacker. In our opinion, this is not normal contact.
“We think the Celtic attacker is more ahead of the Motherwell defender. We think there is an arm movement by the Motherwell defender and that causes a collision on the ground by the legs.
“So as well as the arms and the legs, we think this should be a penalty kick. We want the on-field referee to be brought over to review this incident and ultimately for us, a penalty kick should have been awarded.”
Collum on Reo Hatate’s Challenge Against Kilmarnock
Hatate’s high challenge on Liam Donnelly was reviewed by VAR, with officials deciding it did not warrant a red card. Collum, however, believes this was another mistake.
“So for us, Gordon, this is a red card for serious foul play,” he explained.
“Again, we would like the decision to be identified on-field and a red card issued, but a yellow card was issued. But we also understand it is difficult at full speed.
“When this is reviewed by the VAR, they are very good at looking at various angles. They use criteria so they talk about force, drawing the leg back.
“They do mention that the leg is high and the studs are on the leg. But that’s two criteria that for us is very clear here. The leg is very high, the player arrives late, and the studs are full on the leg.
“The criteria that the VAR and AVAR fail to mention is whether this endangers the safety of an opponent. And for us, on review, this does endanger the safety of an opponent.”
These insights from Collum highlight areas where VAR and match officials must improve to maintain the integrity of the game. For Celtic, the errors underline frustrations with how key decisions have been handled.
