Celtic victims of major injustice as unseen Alistair Johnston footage emerges – pundit
Alan Hutton has suggested Celtic should have been awarded a penalty against Hearts on Saturday (11 March).
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Rangers right-back said referees are leaning on VAR “too much” and are failing to make their own decisions.
As seen in footage shared to Twitter (12 March), Andy Halliday can be seen sliding in on Alistair Johnston inside the Hearts box.
Referee Kevin Clancy allowed play to continue and VAR official Willie Collum did not feel the onfield official had made a clear and obvious error and did not send him to have another look at the incident.
The Celts went on to win the Scottish Cup clash 3-0 and book their place in the semi-final where they will face Rangers.
When asked if Hoops fans were right to be annoyed at the incident, Hutton told Football Insider: “Probably because it was Halliday as well.
“It looked late, he was lunging in obviously trying to get the ball. It definitely looks late to me and it looks like a foul.
“I watched the highlights but I did not see that. It is definitely a late challenge.
“It is that grey area again. Even now, refs are not really making the decision. They are seeing the incident and then they are waiting to see if they have made a mistake or not. They are kind of leaning on it a little bit too much.“
In other news, a Celtic expert has dropped ‘massive’ Daizen Maeda claim as Premier League club ready bid.