NafisaAstounded Jens Berthel Askou has described the decision to award a 99th-minute penalty to Celtic in Motherwell’s 3-2 defeat as one of the worst calls he has ever witnessed in football, warning that Scottish football risks becoming a laughing stock if repeated ‘poor decisions’ are not addressed.
The Fir Park manager believed his team had done enough to secure a point against the title-chasing Hoops when Liam Gordon struck in the 85th minute to make it 2-2, after Elliot Watt’s opener had been overturned by goals from Daizen Maeda and Benjamin Nygren.
However, referee John Beaton and VAR Andrew Dallas ultimately had the decisive say on a dramatic evening in Lanarkshire, as officials ruled that Sam Nicholson had handled the ball inside the box when he challenged Auston Trusty for a header, with Celtic seemingly heading towards a damaging draw in their title push against Hearts.
Kelechi Iheanacho then converted the penalty with the final kick of the match to leave the Steelmen defeated and keep Celtic within a point of Hearts heading into a decisive finale against the Jambos at Celtic Park on Saturday.
For Motherwell, attention now turns to a trip to Hibs where they must avoid defeat if they are to secure fourth place and guarantee European football next season.
After gathering his thoughts, an irate Askou said: “I think it is one of the worst decisions I have seen in my career in football, taking everything into consideration.
“It was a fantastic football game to be part of, what a night. A great crowd, two good teams trying to give their best and give everything they could to keep everything in their hands.
“I think we more than deserved the result that was on the scoreboard until that unreal incident happened.
“I felt we went for it at that time, also knowing that the result at Ibrox was also in our favour, so it was about finding the right balance and I felt we did that.
“We got the equaliser deservedly and put together another memorable performance together with our supporters and we should have been siting here with a point, which wouldn’t have made a huge difference on terms of what we have to do on Saturday.
“But it would have given us a very different emotional state right now, but I am extremely proud of their performance.
“I thought we had seen it all this season, but we hadn’t.
“If we keep making calls like we have done too many times we will end up being ridiculed as a football nation. I really don’t think we deserve that because I think in so many ways this country is taking steps in the right direction – Scotland at the World Cup as well – so I think it is a shame.”
Askou was also taken aback by how swiftly John Beaton made his decision at the monitor in a moment carrying such significant consequences.
He added: “Even from watching it from the distance I saw it when it happened, I was shocked that he even got called to the monitor because you can see he connects with the head.
“When you see it again, the only reason why you can maybe find a picture where it maybe his his fingers is because he connects with Trusty and then his arm gets pushed in the direction he is heading the ball, even if he finds a connection with the hands, it is never a penalty because his arm gets pushed in that direction.
“So no matter what, it is just a bad call.
“I have to believe common sense would prevail, but it didn’t.
“I think the mood is very split [in the dressing room]. There is a huge frustration about what happened, but there is so much strength and pride about what we have done this season and where we still are.”
Nafisa
