The SFA were last night urged to clarify their guidance to referees over the application of the hand ball rule in the wake of the outcry over a controversial incident in the match between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox on Monday.
Celtic fans were incensed when match official John Beaton refused to award Ange Postecoglou’s side a penalty after the ball appeared to strike the arm of Rangers centre half Connor Goldson inside his own area during the second-half.
Video assistant referee Willie Collum backed up Beaton’s initial ruling in a cinch Premiership game which the defending champions drew 2-2 thanks to a late Kyogo Furuhashi goal after watching back replays in Clydesdale House.
Former Category One match official Des Roache believes it was the correct call not to give a spot kick because Goldson made a “reflex action” and did not make his body “unnaturally bigger” and praised Beaton and Collum for “good team work”.
Roache believes that supporters of Scottish clubs would benefit from the SFA outlining to them how the hand ball rule works and feels it would reduce the criticism of referees in the wake of high-profile matches.
“At the moment, the rule is there written down,” said Roache. “The application and the interpretation are causing the problems. To my mind, it really does need a statement or an announcement to say: ‘This is the expectation’. At the moment, it is as clear as mud.
“Obviously, there was the incident on Sunday involving Connor Goldson. Is there a touch on it? Possibly, possibly not. But his hands were within the circumference of his body and under the laws of the game he is entitled to have that. The wording also says ‘reflex’ and that was there too.
“John made the initial decision not to give a penalty and play has raged on. Willie has then backed up the decision after looking at replays of the incident. For me, that is good team work.
“Supporters of Celtic at that time obviously disagreed. But there wasn’t much there. I think it has been overplayed. Both the referee and his assistant have come to the same conclusion. By the letter of the law, they got the decision correct, absolutely.
“John has made his decision and Willie has backed him up. He has clearly been in his ear saying: ‘Look, I think we might need to look at this’. He has done that come back and said: ‘No, you are absolutely fine’. He has vindicated that decision. I think they are getting better at VAR. They are getting there.”
He added: “I would like to think that the SFA, because there has been so much controversy this season and so many people are talking about decisions, could come out and say: ‘This is the instruction that we are giving our referees’. Just go one way with it.
“It doesn’t matter if fans like it or not. It is better to know what the expectations are. Then fans should know what to expect and what the outcome to a particular flashpoint should be. There would be less criticism. It is as clear as mud at this moment in time.”
However, Roache, who gives his opinions on Scottish football on the Get Involved Referee Podcast, conceded that there has been inconsistency in the application of the hand ball rule this season and admitted he can understand why fans have been unhappy with many of the calls which match officials have made.
“If the ball hits you and you have no intention of handling it then that can still be a penalty,” he said. “We have seen incidents earlier on this season in Scotland where a player has been penalised for a hand ball when they have not even been looking at it. The ball has struck them from behind. For me, that shouldn’t be a penalty.
“At this moment in time, we are also getting different decisions made for effectively the same thing. I am thinking back to the James Sands incident at Rangers v Hibs. I am thinking about the Joe Wright incident in the Hearts v Kilmarnock game. Both balls hit the hand. In the Rangers v Hibs game, the penalty wasn’t given, in the Hearts v Kilmarnock game, the penalty was given.
“But neither player had any intention of touching the ball, neither player even knew the ball had struck them at that point. It was the same in the Celtic v Dundee United game earlier this season when Alexandro Bernabei handled the ball. There was no intent from the player. But a penalty was given in that instance. For me, it shouldn’t be given.
“The part of the handball rule that I don’t agree with is where it says your arm is in an unnatural position at that specific moment you run the risk of being penalised. I feel referees are all over the place and don’t know what to give and what not to give.
“It is always going to be subjective if the ball bounces up and hits a player. Are you going to give a penalty for that? What is the player’s opportunity to get out of the way of it? But there is too much dubiety at the moment.”
Des Roache appears on the Get Involved Referee podcast at https://ten10podcasts.com/get-involved-referee/
