Ex-PGMOL chief demands goal-line technology ‘advancement’ after Celtic vs St Johnstone incident

Hawk-Eye goal line technology needs to be extended from corner flag to corner flag after Haissem Hassan’s disallowed goal in Celtic’s 1-0 victory against St Johnstone on Wednesday.

That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that the technology now needs to advance to avoid assistant referees from “guessing” whether the ball had gone out of play or not.

Mika Baur’s sole goal ensured Celtic picked up three points on Wednesday in a tough match at McDiarmid Park.

However, the Hoops thought they had made it 2-0 just after the hour mark when Hassan fired a shot into the back of the net.

This was then disallowed as the assistant referee judged that the ball had gone out of play from the initial cross into the box.

VAR could not review the incident as the ball had gone outside the frame of the camera, which resulted in the assistant referee’s judgement being final.

Keith Hackett: Hawk-Eye goal line technology needs to go from corner flag to corner flag

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Hackett explained why he believed Hawk-Eye technology needs to be extended.

He said: “The best person in the stadium to judge if the ball has gone out of play is the assistant referee.

"That is, provided his position is directly behind the corner flag, looking across the entire goal line.

“Having worked closely with Hawk-Eye in goal line technology, laying down the criteria of what I required. I know that when you are making a judgement of whether the whole of the ball crossed over the goal line is invariably a guess. Particularly where the ball is in the air off the ground.

“So football in these situations has to rely on the assistant referee making the call.

“I had to fight hard to get goal line technology approved by FIFA and UEFA.

“Someone now needs to advance the cause for Hawk-Eye’s Goal Line technology to be extended from corner flag to corner flag across the entire length of the goal line.

“This does have a substantial cost, so without it the fallback situation is with the match officials.

“You have to accept that on the day he has made the correct call.

“Football Clubs will spend millions on players and are reluctant to pay for the cost of technology in this area of operations.”

Martin O’Neill needs to win Old Firm derbies

Despite the recent uptick in results, Martin O’Neill simply needs to win both of the upcoming Old Firm derbies.

Supporters will not have forgotten their collapse in the Champions League playoffs, and the Hoops haven’t exactly been great since then, despite winning four matches in a row.

However, if they were able to beat Rangers in back-to-back games, it would do wonders for both Celtic and O’Neill before the international break.

Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if they are able to achieve this.