Steven Naismith rankles at Celtic penalty decision as Hearts boss adamant NEITHER spot-kick should have stood
Steven Naismith says NEITHER team should have had a penalty in Hearts' defeat to Celtic at Parkhead.
The struggling Jambos were vastly improved against Brendan Rodgers' team and thought they had the chance to take the lead in the first half when Lawrence Shankland headed one onto Liam Scales' arm. But after referee Colin Steven initially pointed to the spot, he was called over to the monitor to review it, and overturned his decision.
The exact opposite occurred in the Celtic boss after the break, ref Steven initially not penalising James Penrice for handling a cross, before awarding the home side a spot-kick after reviewing it on the monitor. That granted Arne Engels the chance to score his first Celtic goal, and got the Hoops on their way to a comfortable 2-0 win. Jambos boss Naismith, however, was unhappy at the inconsistency.
“I don't think our penalty is a penalty in the guidelines in terms of the distance between the players," he said. "But I also don't think theirs is a penalty. It’s down to opinion. With the images we were shown before the season, it's all down to distance. It hits his arm, but for me there's nothing Penrice can do. The motion is the one that we were shown in pre-season. So I disagree with that and that's a big moment in the game.
“We probably were a wee bit better in possession in the second half. We believed a bit more and the crowd were getting frustrated. But when that goal goes in it then changes it. And then the second goal comes when we open the game up a bit and there's a bit more space.
“What the interpretation has been is that there are times the ball hits somebody's hand and there's nothing they can do. We accept that. I just feel that both of them are in the same ballpark. I don't think the distance between James and the ball is great enough that he can get his hand out the way. If one's a penalty, the other one has to be.
“But for me there were positives: The way we defended, the attitude of the players, the discipline of the players. And we do come away actually having had a couple of good chances, especially in the second half when it was 1-0. Musa Drammeh has an opportunity that, if that goes in the dynamic of the game changes.”