Dermot Gallagher has given his assessment of the two major VAR decisions in Celtic’s defeat to Hibs, and his conclusions are unlikely to sit well with the majority of Celtic supporters.
Earlier, Mark Clattenburg described Celtic defender Auston Trusty as unfortunate to have received a red card following his altercation with a Hibs defender at a corner kick. The former FIFA referee also felt that Celtic’s Liam Scales was unlucky not to have been awarded a penalty after his shirt was pulled in the immediate aftermath of Trusty’s dismissal.
Gallagher, however, appears to take a notably different view on both decisions, which is sure to leave many in the Celtic support scratching their heads.
Sky Sports gave Gallagher the chance to examine the key moments from Celtic Park, and he was unwilling to side with those who felt Trusty had been harshly treated. Speaking on Sky Sports Ref Watch, Gallagher explained that while the opposing player had grabbed Trusty’s arm first, the manner in which Trusty responded was the problem. Once the referee was directed to the monitor, the movement looked to have been carried out with too much aggression, and Gallagher argued that once something has been seen on screen, it cannot be unseen, even if the same incident dealt with on the pitch in real time might have drawn a far more lenient response.
On the question of a penalty for Scales, Gallagher was equally unconvinced. He acknowledged that Scales felt his shirt had been pulled, but concluded that there simply was not sufficient contact to justify awarding a spot kick.
Celtic now face a difficult road ahead. With Trusty suspended and the team sitting six points off the top, a further setback at Ibrox in the Glasgow Derby could make their title defence an increasingly unlikely proposition.