Dermot Gallagher drops verdict on Connor Goldson handball controversy from Rangers win v Celtic live on Sky Sports
Dermot Gallagher believes there is “no doubt” that the referee made the right decision not to award a penalty to Celtic in the 3-0 win for Rangers on Saturday (13 May).
Gers claimed a dominant win at Ibrox thanks to goals from Todd Cantwell, John Souttar and Fashion Sakala, but the Hoops were adamant they should have had a penalty when the ball hit Connor Goldson’s arm in the first half.
But while analysing the footage on Sky Sports News’ Ref Watch (15 May, 11:54), former Premier League referee Gallagher claimed it can’t be a penalty and that the players already know this hence the lack of appeals.
“It can’t be a penalty can it?” he said. “He’s falling backwards and breaking his fall. His arm is clearly on the floor.
“It strikes him there’s no doubt about it, but you can see the players’ reaction. They don’t even appeal now because they know that’s what the law is.”
Salty
The game meant little other than pride to many people, but for Rangers it was vitally important to claim all three points and give the fans some form of hope to cling on to.
The performance from the players was far better than we’ve seen in recent weeks and they actually looked like they all had a point to prove for once.
On the other hand Celtic weren’t entirely on it and with their rested players they’re now being salty about the fact they simply weren’t good enough on the day.
We’ve seen all season that what happened in this game to Goldson was never awarded as a penalty and it shouldn’t randomly start being given at this point of the campaign.
Maybe next season the rules will change because the handball has been an absolute shocker this season, but now it’s clear this was never a penalty so it’s good that an ex-official has cleared that up.
In other Rangers news, one star could be set to join Ryan Kent at a European club with their exits confirmed.