NafisaEx-Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has shared his judgment on Rangers’ penalty claim against Celtic on Sunday.
Ianis Hagi fell in the penalty area with the score level at 1-1.
Referee Nick Walsh initially waved off the incident, and after VAR reviewed it, no penalty was awarded.
Gallagher supported the final decision on Sky Sports News’ Ref Watch segment: “I think it’s just a reaction of two players reaching for the ball,” he said.
“[It’s] not a penalty for me.”
Sue Smith adopted a comparable perspective. She said: “Again, when you see that, you’ve got an argument for both. If you’re a Rangers fan, you’re certainly saying its impeded him.
“If you’re a Celtic fan, you say that they were just going for the ball.
“I think there’s an argument for both, and hence they probably don’t give it. [There’s] not enough one way.”
The match ultimately concluded with a 1-1 draw despite Daizen Maeda’s late chance.
The Celtic forward sprinted through on Liam Kelly, but the 29-year-old goalkeeper triumphed, as James Tavernier eventually cleared the danger.
Barry Ferguson avoided discussing the penalty appeal in depth to steer clear of trouble: “If that’s in the middle of the pitch, it’s a foul,” he said.
“But it was in the box and it wasn’t given as a foul. I just need to move on quickly because I don’t want to start saying things that’s going to get me in trouble.”
Nafisa
