Celtic news: Ex-Fifa official ‘wowed’ by cheating player as footage of Anthony Ralston controversy emerges
Keith Hackett has praised the decision not to award Bodo/Glimt an early penalty in their 2-0 win over Celtic yesterday (24 February).
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League referee claimed Ulrik Saltnes was trying to deceive the officials after Anthony Ralston’s challenge in the opening stages.
Joe Hart’s pass to Ralston fell to Saltnes and as the Celtic defender won the ball back the Bodo/Glimt man fell to the ground.
On the replays on BT Sport‘s highlights, it looked like he had been pushed by the Celtic defender.
However, Hackett insisted the referee had a better angle than the TV cameras and therefore he supported his decision.
He said after analysing the footage with Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley: “Wow, he’s panicked and it looks like a penalty.
“The referee is in a great spot. Blimey, he might be going down before he’s pushed.
“I think here the referee could not have been better placed to actually see the incident.
“Because the Celtic player has bent arms but doesn’t straighten them, it’s not a pushing incident, from the angle we’ve seen.
“On this one, the referee has got it right. It shows the danger of how players go to ground to deceive the referee.
“With that angle, you look at the referee when you’re assessing and therefore I am happy with the referee. The player knows exactly what he’s trying to do and he’s gone to ground to try and deceive.”
Bodo/Glimt’s win secured their passage to the Europa Conference League round of 16 with a 5-1 aggregate win.
They will face AZ Alkmaar in the next round of the competition.
In other news, a Celtic star will take a long time to recover after ‘indescribable’ news.