Ange Postecoglou makes surprise Celtic penalties claim

Ange Postecoglou has made a rare venture into discussing refereeing decisions.

With a media frenzy going on around him on Friday the Celtic boss declared that he was ambivalent to the fuss and hoped that VAR wouldn’t be required at Tynecastle since the referee would get all of the decisions right.

That wish didn’t survive 45 minutes, in the period before half-time VAR eventually awarded Hearts a deserved penalty then incredibly denied Celtic their penalty when Michael Smith handled a James Forrest pass.

? LISTEN: “I keep hearing opposition managers say we get everything… the only penalties we’ve taken are in training.”

Ange Postecoglou thinks Celtic were denied a clear penalty in their 4-3 win over Hearts – and says he doesn’t like the ‘standing around’ involved in VAR calls. pic.twitter.com/LX17obbTR0

— Clyde 1 Superscoreboard (@ClydeSSB) October 22, 2022

I thought we had a clear-cut handball and penalty but apparently that’s not good enough. What do I know?

We haven’t had a penalty all year and I keep hearing opposition managers saying we get everything. The only penalties we have taken so far this season have been in training.

In 11 SPFL matches Celtic have scored 39 goals but haven’t been awarded a single penalty. It is very rare for the hoops boss to make any comment on referee decisions.

Today’s decision seems baffling on a number of levels. Smith clearly raised his arm towards the ball but having instructed Nick Walsh to check the monitor for the Hearts penalty Steven McLean simply ruled out any review of the Forrest/Smith handball.