Watch the penalty incident by Kevin Clancy that almost cost Celtic dearly
It was an incident that changed the course of the match.
With Celtic leading 1-0 Aberdeen were under pressure on the back of losing to Motherwell and Dundee United in successive weeks.
In the 33rd minute a corner was fired into the Celtic penalty area, landing at the feet of David Bates, not the most nimble of players on the deck.
As the Dons defender headed across the penalty box Liel Abada realised what could happen and pulled his left foot back, placing it on the ground.
Disgrace of a decision. Never a penalty. Bates should’ve been booked for diving
Clancy yards from it anaw. Outrageous. pic.twitter.com/whre85Voso— Ronnie Postecoglou (@RonnieJM67) November 28, 2021
Bates already knew what he was doing, he certainly wasn’t about to spin round and fire the ball into the net. Despite Abada having both legs stationary Bates decided to go to ground and take his chances with referee Kevin Clancy.
His luck was in. Rather than reach for a yellow card Clancy pointed to the penalty spot, Lewis Ferguson converted with Aberdeen back in the game.
Celtic had to wait until the hour mark to restore their lead, thankfully Callum McGregor’s goal delivered full points otherwise much more of an issue would have been made of the penalty awarded to Aberdeen.