Assistant referee Frank Connor apologised to Dedryck Boyata after awarding Hibs a penalty on Saturday at Hampden.
There was no foul play involved when the Celtic defender took the ball away from Martin Boyle early in the second half with the hoops leading 2-0.
Missing something that happened is one thing, like a handball from Josh Meekings, but seeing something that didn’t happen is an entirely different matter.
Referee Kevin Clancy hesitated about the challenge but as he saw Connor racing to the corner flag the referee decided to award Hibs a penalty.
???? BR: “The linesman came in after the game and apologised. He said to Dedryck he made a mistake, takes a lot of courage to do that.” #SPFL
— Celtic Football Club (@celticfc) October 23, 2017
When Anthony Stokes converted the penalty the game could have swung Hibs way but a double from Moussa Dembele prevented Connor’s mistake from denying Celtic a place in the final.
Craig Thompson, who was the fourth official at Hampden will referee Wednesday’s clash between Aberdeen and Celtic at Pittodrie.
Celtic will meet Motherwell in the final of the Betfred Cup.
