Celtic defender Alistair Johnston has once again found himself at the centre of a refereeing debate, after his controversial challenge on Roland Idowu during the Hoops’ 5-2 win over St Mirren.
The incident, which occurred with Celtic holding a narrow 3-2 lead in an end-to-end Scottish Premiership match, saw the Canadian international lunge into a tackle that took out the St Mirren player inside the box.
Despite calls for a penalty, referee Matthew MacDermid waved play on, and VAR official Andrew Dallas agreed, dismissing the need for a review.
This decision has sparked a fresh round of criticism, with former SFA referee Des Roache among those expressing concerns.
Roache, who had previously pointed out Johnston’s fortune in escaping a red card against Ross County earlier in the season, suggested that the right-back had once again been let off the hook in Paisley.
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Speaking on The Ref’s View podcast, Roache did not mince his words: “Yes, it was a penalty kick. Alistair Johnston has dived in and taken the boy right out. People will say it’s a red card, but I don’t think it is.
“It’s a penalty, and Johnston has been very fortunate over the last couple of years.”
While Roache stopped short of accusing Johnston of anything nefarious, he acknowledged the defensive tactics at play.
“I am not using words like 'dark arts' and things - it's just a foul,” he said, reflecting on what he felt was a clear case of poor decision-making by the officials.
"I think it was well worthy of a penalty,” he explained.
"I think it was high tariff yellow card or an orange card - but he was a bloody lucky boy.
“All refs miss things, but I can't believe that VAR after having a quick look didn't think that was worthy of an on-field review."
On the failure to award his team a penalty 60 seconds before Daizen Maeda made it 4-2, St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson said: “It's not a good claim, it's a penalty. I don't blame the ref as it happens quickly.
"You need luck against top teams, but it wasn't luck - it was just we didn't get the decision we should have got.
“It's 3-2 and everything to play for. I thought we were on top of the game at that stage as well."
