Week 34 of the SPFL Premier season saw comfortable wins for the top two from tough away assignments. Despite this, there were a few incidents of note for the Yorkshire Whistler to give the virtual VAR treatment to.
BACKGROUND – I outlined a framework to assess the impact of Honest Mistakes in the SPFL.
23/04/22 Motherwell vs The Rangers
Incident 1
Referee | Nick Walsh |
Game Minute | 28th |
Incident | Balogun challenge results in red card |
Outcome | Foul to Motherwell, Red Card to Balogun |
Evidence | Motherwell 1-3 Rangers | Ten-man victory! | cinch Premiership – YouTube
At 01:14 |
Incident 2
Referee | Nick Walsh |
Game Minute | 62nd |
Incident | Sakala goes down in the box |
Outcome | Penalty to TRFC |
Evidence | Motherwell 1-3 Rangers | Ten-man victory! | cinch Premiership – YouTube
At 03:43 |
24/04/22 Ross County vs Celtic
Incident 1
Referee | Kevin Clancy |
Game Minute | 23rd |
Incident | Furuhashi given offside from O’Riley through ball |
Outcome | Goal disallowed and free kick to Ross County |
Evidence | Ross County 0-2 Celtic | Kyogo Furuhashi Scores Early Opener! | cinch Premiership – YouTube
At 0:46 |
Yorkshire Whistler Verdict | The Celtic forward almost times his run to perfection to latch onto a pass and slot home but assistant referee makes an incredibly tight call and rules him off side.
At full speed I felt this was a tight but correct call and even in slow motion I still feel this was just the right call. VAR if in use will have drawn up the lines and aligned to the defender’s rear leg and at the time of the pass, it is so close to call either way. Verdict: Correct Decision (just) |
Expected Points
Outcome |
No impact |
Incident 2
Referee | Kevin Clancy |
Game Minute | 56th |
Incident | Maeda header from corner connects with Randall’s arm |
Outcome | No decision |
Evidence | Ross County 0-2 Celtic | Kyogo Furuhashi Scores Early Opener! | cinch Premiership – YouTube
At 02:35 |
Yorkshire Whistler Verdict | Initial on field decision: No offence committed
Maeda and the Ross County defender jump up together in an aerial challenge. In real time the ball appears to hit the defender and his arm does look outstretched so I can understand why there is a penalty appeal. However, having reviewed the footage replay, we can see that the ball initially hits the defender’s torso, before then ricocheting onto his arm, whilst his arm is still relatively ‘tucked in’. The arm only begins to out stretch, after the contact has already occurred. Given the initial contact is elsewhere on the body, the nature of the challenge at close proximity and the arms initial position, there is no element of accidental hand ball with unnaturally bigger body shape that can’t be justified. Verdict: Correct Decision |
Expected Points
Outcome |
No impact |
Summary
My thanks as always to the Yorkshire Whistler.
Congratulations are due to Walsh and Clancy for getting the big calls correct in this crucial game week.
No movement in the overall xPts position then.
After this week’s errors, Celtic have 3.64 LESS Points than expected and The Rangers have 1.47 MORE points than expected due to the cumulative impact of Honest Mistakes.
The overall difference, therefore, is 5.11 points.
Celtic currently lead by 6 points with four matches left. Had VAR been in place in Scotland (and staffed with competent, neutral officials), Celtic would be looking at potentially 1 more point to clinch the league.
Covenantsland says
Thank you again. Mr Whistler, you’ve been able to bring a none bias opinion to paranoia from both sides in Glasgow.