The decision to award Celtic a penalty in their 4-1 victory over Ross County has sparked division among the Scottish FA’s Key Match Incident (KMI) panel.
Referee Matthew MacDermid was prompted to check the VAR monitor before granting Celtic a penalty in the 90th minute of the William Hill Premiership match.
The incident involved a foul on South Korean winger Yang Hyun-Jun by Ross County defender James Brown.
The penalty extended Celtic’s lead to 3-1, with Arne Engels converting the retake after Jordan Amissah saved his initial attempt but was found to have moved off his line.
The KMI panel ruled by a 4:1 majority that the penalty decision was correct, though one member dissented, arguing that no foul had occurred.
Further disagreement arose over the VAR intervention itself, with only three of the four panelists who supported the penalty believing the threshold for intervention—a clear and obvious error—had been met.
In their report, the panel stated:
“The panel discussed this decision at length with the majority (4:1) deeming the onfield decision incorrect. One panelist believed that a penalty should not have been awarded and VAR was incorrect to intervene. The majority (3:2) believed VAR was correct to intervene and recommend a review for a possible penalty-kick. Although one panelist believed a penalty should have been awarded they felt it did not meet the threshold for VAR intervention.”
The panel also reviewed a penalty awarded to Ross County for a challenge by Alistair Johnston on Kieran Phillips.
This decision, made on the field, was unanimously upheld as correct, with VAR official Greig Aitken opting against recommending a review. “The on-field decision was unanimously supported,” the report noted.
Additionally, the KMI panel assessed a potential red card incident involving Aberdeen’s Leighton Clarkson for his challenge on Rangers’ Ridvan Yilmaz.
Referee Kevin Clancy issued a yellow card, and VAR official Nick Walsh decided a review was unnecessary. However, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher disagreed with the decision.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Gallagher commented:
“I actually think this is a red card. If you watch, what saves him, is he slows up just before he gets there. Whether the referee thinks that’s stopped the intensity or the impact, I don’t know. I think if you plant your studs that high up on a player you run a massive risk. If you got a red card you couldn’t argue.”
Despite Gallagher’s view, the KMI panel sided with the Scottish officials, unanimously agreeing that the yellow card was the correct decision.
In total, the KMI panel reviewed 15 incidents from matches played between January 12 and 15. They concluded that no incorrect decisions were made.
Among the incidents reviewed was Motherwell’s Jack Vale’s straight red card in their 3-1 loss to Hibs, which was upheld by a 4:1 majority, and the penalty awarded to Hearts in their goalless draw against Aberdeen, which was unanimously supported.
