Celtic have been left frustrated after what many believe was a clear penalty was waved away during their Scottish Cup tie with Dundee, with the decision branded “incredible” by several high profile pundits.
The flashpoint arrived with the game still scoreless when Tomas Cvancara became entangled with Dundee defender Luke Graham near the edge of the penalty area. The Celtic striker was shoved as he tried to drive forward, with the contact appearing to carry on as both players moved into the box before Cvancara went to ground.
Referee Ryan Lee opted to award a free kick just outside the area. VAR officials, led by David Dickinson, reviewed the incident and chose not to intervene, backing the on field call. The Scottish FA later issued an explanation, stating that pushing offences can only be punished from the point where contact begins.
That reasoning has not gone down well. Former Rangers midfielder Alex Rae was left baffled by the outcome when speaking on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard. He argued that it made little sense to deny a penalty when the shove continued into the area, adding that the decision felt wrong regardless of which teams were involved.
Former Premier League and FIFA referee Keith Hackett also took issue with the officials. Posting on social media, he insisted the incident should have resulted in a spot kick. Hackett went further in comments to Football Insider, calling on the head of Scottish refereeing Willie Collum to review the decision. He pointed to replays which, in his view, showed Cvancara’s foot inside the box at the moment of the push and suggested VAR should have sent the referee to the pitchside monitor.
The SFA’s official explanation maintained that the correct call was made. Their statement confirmed that because the initial shove occurred outside the area, it could only be punished there. According to their guidance, only holding that continues inside the box can result in a penalty.
Despite that clarification, the debate around the incident shows no sign of dying down, with many still convinced Celtic were denied a golden opportunity to take the lead.