Ex-FIFA referee: Celtic victims of major injustice as controversial Liel Abada footage analysed
Keith Hackett has suggested the Video Assistant Referee should have accepted the referee’s decision to award Celtic star Liel Abada’s goal against Livingston rather than intervening to chalk it off.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League referee claimed a “grey area” in the IFAB rules allowed the VAR officials to “make assumptions” about the thought process of the players on the field.
As seen on BBC’s Sportscene (17:00, 21 December), Abada thought he had scored to give Celtic a 3-1 lead against Livingston – but was eventually found to be in an offside position following a pitchside review.
The Israel international seized on a poor defensive header from Livi defender Morgan Boyes – who may have been unnerved by the wingers’ presence.
IFAB guidelines state that a player in an offside position is not considered to have gained an advantage when they receive the ball from a player making a “deliberate” attempt at playing the ball.
As quoted by The Herald post-match, Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou refused to wade in on the controversy – insisting he won’t “talk about VAR anymore”.
Hackett told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “This a very grey area in terms of the definition of deliberate.
“The referee can only make a decision based on an action. You can’t start looking at the thought process of the defender, and whether Abada distracted him.
“You’re making assumptions otherwise. The referee can only judge based on what he has seen.
“Because human beings are involved, these decisions can change from one time to the next.
“I think the VAR should have supported the referee’s process, and then the Scottish FA can come out and give the reasons for why they think he was right.”
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