The latest round of SPFL fixtures saw Celtic take on Kilmarnock whilst Steven Davis took Micky Beale’s Galactico’s to high flying St Mirren.
The impact of big calls being incorrect can then be evaluated using the framework outlined here -> Honest Mistakes in the SPFL.
SPFL Game Week Eight
07/10/23 Celtic vs Kilmarnock
Incident 1
| Referee | Matthew McDermid |
| Game Minute | 33rd |
| Score At Time | 1-0 |
| Incident | Palma scores for Celtic |
| Outcome | Goal to Celtic |
| Evidence | (4) Celtic 3-1 Kilmarnock | Bhoys Bounce Back With A Strong Win! | cinch Premiership – YouTube
At 1:04 |
Incident 2
| Referee | Matthew McDermid |
| Game Minute | 59th |
| Score At Time | 2-0 |
| Incident | Hatate goes down in the box |
| Outcome | Penalty to Celtic overturned upon VAR review |
| Evidence | (4) Celtic 3-1 Kilmarnock | Bhoys Bounce Back With A Strong Win! | cinch Premiership – YouTube
At 1:54 |
| Yorkshire Whistler Verdict | Hatate goes down in box from Watson challenge
Initial on field decision: Penalty initially awarded by on field referee, but then overturned after VAR review Hatate runs at the Kilmarnock player just inside the box, there is contact, and the Celtic forward goes to ground. In real time I felt this looked a soft decision and upon watching the replay, I initial thoughts were confirmed. Hatate uses his right leg to step into the stride pattern of the defender who doesn’t appear to make any attempt to make a tackle. Clearly not a foul and VAR arrived at the same conclusion. VERDICT: CORRECT decision to overrule the penalty – no foul committed. |
| Expected Points
Outcome |
No impact |
Incident 3
| Referee | Matthew McDermid |
| Game Minute | 72nd |
| Score At Time | 2-0 |
| Incident | Watson scores for Kilmarnock |
| Outcome | Goal to Kilmarnock |
| Evidence | (4) Celtic 3-1 Kilmarnock | Bhoys Bounce Back With A Strong Win! | cinch Premiership – YouTube
At 3:28 |
| Yorkshire Whistler Verdict | Watson scores for Kilmarnock
Initial on field decision: Goal awarded to Kilmarnock In the build up to this goal, you can see the Kilmarnock captain and a Celtic player competing for the same space as they hunt down the ball. Both players end up on the floor, but it is the Kilmarnock player who gets top his feet first and duly creates the assist for the goal. I feel some credit should be shown the on-field referee here, for playing an excellent advantage. As it is the Celtic player who commits the initial foul as he tugs on the right shoulder of the away player and then they both momentarily end up on the floor. The referee recognises that the Kilmarnock player will regain his footing first and so allows play to continue. VERDICT: CORRECT decision to award the goal. NB I did notice this incident (Taylor goes down on the edge of the Kilmarnock box) right at the start of the clip, but it seems to happen right at the edge of the image and we don’t see the starting contact from either player. Without additional footage to review showing the clip in its entirety, I would be speculating at best. |
| Expected Points
Outcome |
No impact |
08/10/23 St Mirren vs The Rangers
Incident 1
| Referee | Nick Walsh |
| Game Minute | 28th |
| Score At Time | 0-0 |
| Incident | Ball hits Strain in the box |
| Outcome | No decision; Penalty to TRFC and RC to Strain upon VAR review |
| Evidence | (4) St Mirren 0-3 Rangers | Tavernier Grabs Brace Over 10-Man St Mirren | cinch Premiership – YouTube
At 00:01 |
| Yorkshire Whistler Verdict | Ball hits Strain in the box
Initial on field decision: Penalty awarded to Rangers and Strain sent off after VAR review. Rangers player hits a ball across the face of goal and before his teammate can get on the end of the cross just yards out, the St Mirren attempts to block the ball and appears to hit his outstretched arm. This is the kind of incident that VAR can really aid the on-field referee, who in real time has virtually no chance of seeing the contact due to his and player’s positions. For me, the St Mirren unnecessarily extends his left arm, and the ball then hits it. If he doesn’t make this motion, then the Rangers player at the far post has an obvious goal scoring opportunity. Under the laws of the game, the player is correctly sent off for a handball offence that denies an obvious goal scoring opportunity. VERDICT: CORRECT decision to award the penalty and send off the St Mirren player. |
| Expected Points
Outcome |
No impact |
Summary
My thanks as always to the Yorkshire Whistler.
Note that in the Celtic vs Kilmarnock game there was controversy regarding the Kilmarnock goal as Greg Taylor appears to go down on the edge of the Kilmarnock box as the move starts. The available footage did not allow the Yorkshire Whistler sufficient angle to assess that contact if any.
Oddly (not odd) neither the BBC nor Sky Sports highlights include this incident in their replay of the goal, preferring to start the footage as the ball reaches Vassell.
In terms of the overall position:
The Rangers have 0.16 less points than expected due to the impact of Honest Mistakes.
Celtic lead by seven points after eight matches.
In fairness, the YW has cited mitigating factors of that kind even when he’s said he disagreed with the on field decision. It would be reasonable to think that the Taylor incident wasn’t available to the VAR team either?
If we’re even interested in being fair, we’d have to keep count of these things too? I remember flagging after a home game against Kilmarnock last season that Kilmarnock had a very good penalty claim at 0-0 (against Starfelt) and that a Celtic player (I think CCV) seemed to handle the ball in the box before Kyogo scored at the other end a few seconds later. I heard a flurry of Killie fans complain about the incidents on the radio as I sat in Bridgeton traffic on my way home from the game. The incidents were on YouTube, but neither appeared on the BBC or Sky highlights. High profile incidents (in non-televised games, for people who don’t attend the matches) are basically the incidents that Rangers or (more often) Celtic fans complain about – because they will do so more loudly and in greater numbers.
In any case, I do wish that more Celtic fans would read the YW’s verdicts and stop loudly decrying McDermid and his colleagues as ‘orange bastard(s)’ in huge numbers while in the process of making correct decisions. It’s embarrassing.
McDermid (wrongly) awarded the penalty to Celtic in a heartbeat. It happened right in front of me. Pointed to the spot instantly.
Luckily, the camera angle that wasn’t available for the Taylor foul was available for the Hatate “penalty” from virtually the same position.
Phew, what a stroke of luck.
Aye, because cameras stay perfectly static and pick up off the ball incidents in that way.
You’re right. Obvious anti-Celtic conspiracy right enough.
I thought that there were static cameras trained on the 18y line for offside decisions, hence the furore a couple of years back when the relevant one ‘failed’ and the one at the far end was used instead to adjudge Jota ‘offside’.
Perhaps that’s not the case but given the Taylor ‘foul’ was an on the ball incident, as he was bearing down on the goal then I would expect the cameras to have an excellent view of it.
Obviously you have a different view, including erroneously classifying it as ‘off the ball’ but each to their own.
I never mentioned conspiracy but, as you’ve brought it up, how is your courageous campaign against Catholic (and therefore pro-Celtic in your view) Refs coming along?
Yip, have never argued any such thing. Have responded to you on that before and you’ve ignored. But, to each their own, “The Cha”.
Enjoyed that Yorkie, cheers chum.
Little if anything to add. I’d love to see the Taylor incident in lead up to Killie goal but can’t find footage anywhere and from my seat 80 yards away down the same side of the pitch I wouldn’t make a particularly educated guess. Otherwise…as you were.
The only footage I’ve seen is:
(SPFL) 3m27s – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwH5SDkD9Nk
(Celtic) 3m50s – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTwricUTRt4&t=231s
Maddeningly, as YW observes, its right at the edge of the frame, so you cannot see exactly what happens.
Also, the replays only start with the ‘foul’ on the Killie player, although I hope VAR would’ve have also reviewed the earlier incident.
That’s certainly the way it is elsewhere and I vaguely recall us having a goal disallowed against Livingston for a foul way back at the other end of the pitch.
If they didn’t review it or didn’t have the footage then that’s incompetence, given that it happened in pretty much slow motion in prime viewing location.
Of course, the omertà regarding these incidents means we haven’t a clue, as to whether it was reviewed properly and adjudged not a foul, or wasn’t reviewed, so no opportunity for discussion on improving processes.
For all the hysteria created by VAR in England, at least there’s open discussion on how decisions are arrived at and suspensions and improvements are put in place when the system fails.
Up here? Tumbleweed.