Ange Postecoglou highlights Nick Walsh role over VAR penalty decisions

Ange Postecoglou has slammed the way that VAR is being implemented in Scotland with reference to the decision a fortnight ago not to award Celtic a penalty against Hearts at Tynecastle.

Nick Walsh was the referee at Tynecastle that day, today he was on VAR duty highlighting a handball by Alexandro Bernabei that required a pitchside check of the VAR monitor by David Dickinson.

After more than three minutes of a delay a penalty was awarded, Steven Fletcher converted with Celtic back on level terms after a significant break in play.

In 15 months as Celtic manager Postecoglou has went out of his way to avoid any comment on refereeing decisions but after another episode of VAR drama he had called things out.

The Daily Record reports Postecoglou saying:

I just think the way it looks, apart from if we’re playing Hearts away, it hits your hand in the box it’s a penalty. I don’t even know why they bother with natural, unnatural, Berna wasn’t even looking at the ball, how is he to know his arm is in an unnatural position? It basically means if the ball hits your hand in the box it’s a penalty. If that’s the way they want to define it.

It will change the game, the way people defend, you will literally stop trying to put your body in the line of the ball because any sort of contact is going to be a penalty.

Should Celtic demand that the SFA publish a VAR report explaining key decisions an hour after the final whistle?

No, we have to let teething troubles die down

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Dundee United looked like taking a point from Celtic when they equalised for the second time in the 87th minute but Celtic stormed back to take the points with Kyogo Furuhashi and Liel Abada scoring in stoppage time.