Willie Collum Releases Celtic Statement After Handball Controversy | Latest Celtic News
· Aaron McGuire · 2026-08-16T07:47:46+00:00 · nguồn gốc
It was a great night for Celtic in Tannadice as they beat Dundee United 4-0 to progress to the next round of the Premier Sports Cup.
Had the Hoops carried last season’s luck, the scoreline easily could’ve been different.
The home side hit the woodwork FIVE times, but Celtic were clinical down the other end.
Lots of positives to take from their game for Martin O’Neill and his coaching staff, with two debuts for Hassan and Baur, too. The pair were added to the squad in time this week to feature against LASK on Wednesday.
But, as ever it feels, the match wasn’t without its controversies.
As Camilo Duran scored his first competitive goal in the Hoops, there was a question of a handball. VAR checked the goal, with teh stadium announcer confirming that VAR were checking for a foul on the Defender.
After a check, Høgh was not judged to have committed a foul, but the ball did strike his arm. However, by the laws of the game, it was not deemed a punishable offence.
Willie Collum has since come out and clarified the ruling, siding with the referee and VAR officials.
A statement from the Head of Referees to Premier Sports read:
“The entire incident was checked, including the handball.
“The ball clearly strikes the hand of the Celtic attacker, however this is not a punishable handball as it is a consequence of his playing action and is completely accidental.
“The laws of the game are clear regarding handball and an immediate goal being scored. The offence only applies when the player who handled the ball is the one who subsequently scores.
“As another attacker scored, this provision does not apply.
“We note that at half time this was compared to the Falkirk disallowed goal from week one (in the Premiership). The VAR deemed that handball to be punishable by law.
“In our opinion however, these are completely different incidents and should be considered comparable.”
It won’t please every pundit, MSP or conspiracy-crying Rangers fan, but the rules were followed here, and the goal was, rightly, awarded.