Celtic should have been awarded a penalty against Motherwell last weekend following a handball from Ricki Lamie.
That is the opinion of Alan Hutton, who was speaking about last weekend’s Premiership fixture with Football Insider.
With Celtic leading the game 2-1, Liel Abada’s cross was blocked by the hand of Lamie inside the box, but referee John Beaton was unmoved.
It is likely that if VAR technology was in place – which is set to be introduced in the Premiership imminently – a penalty would have been awarded to Ange Postecoglou’s side.
Despite the incident, the Hoops went on to win the game 2-1, but Hutton believes that the decision should have been awarded.
He said: “If there is VAR, that is a penalty.
“I think he has put his arm out from his side, he has made himself bigger and he has stopped a cross in a dangerous situation. For me, when VAR comes in, that would be given as a penalty.
“As soon as you put your arms out in an unnatural position and the ball hits you, it is going to be a penalty. It is something that I think all defenders and players alike are going to have to get used to when VAR comes into the Scottish game.”
TIF Thoughts on Hutton’s comments…
We agree with Hutton and believe that if VAR had been available, a penalty would have been given and Celtic perhaps would have had a more comfortable finish to the Premiership clash.
However, as we’ve seen in the English Premier League, VAR can cause more problems than it’s worth, and fans of the Scottish game may be fearing the impact it has on their football once it is implemented.
Therefore, we agree with Hutton and believe that players are going to have to adapt to VAR once it is introduced and may have to change their approach to defensive actions knowing that they won’t be able to get away with as much as they have previously.