BBC share why Rangers did not get penalty v Celtic after Parkhead incident
BBC Sport journalist Nick McPheat has shared exactly why Rangers were not awarded a penalty in the first half of their clash with Celtic.
The Gers were adamant a spot-kick should have been given in their favour when Celtic defender Alistair Johnston handled the ball in the box.
Referee Nick Walsh did not point to the spot after some deliberation, with even Neil Lennon admitting he felt it should have been awarded.
However, writing on BBC Sport’s live blog [30 December, 1:37pm], McPheat said: “Right, so we’ve had some guidance on the penalty.
“We’re being told there was an offside offence against Abdallah Sima as the ball was played in, before it struck Alistair Johnston’s hand.
“Regardless, the officials apparently deemed the movement of his hand to be natural.”
Why the delay?
Sima does unfortunately look to be an inch or so offside in the build-up to Johnston’s handball, but why was this not relayed to those covering the match sooner?
Sky Sports spent the majority of their half-time coverage analysing the incident, with the widespread consensus that Rangers were unfortunate not to be given a pen.
To suggest that that the movement of Johnston’s hand was natural, though, is just plain wrong. He slapped the ball out of play, preventing Sima from getting to it.
This is clear to see in the footage shared by Sky Sports Scotland on Twitter [30 December]. Johnston gets his bearings all wrong and panics – it is as simple as that.
Rangers were one goal down at the time, making the decision all the more frustrating. Even the offside was extremely close, so Celtic can consider themselves lucky with this call.
In other Rangers news, one Gers player in particular let himself down at Parkhead with what he did in the first half.