NafisaKris Boyd surprised plenty of people after Celtic’s dramatic win over Motherwell by admitting there was another major VAR moment that may actually have gone against the Hoops during the chaotic night at Fir Park.
While most of the discussion after the match focused entirely on the controversial stoppage-time penalty awarded to Celtic, Boyd revealed there was an earlier incident involving Daizen Maeda that he believed officials got wrong.
Celtic eventually won the game 3-2 after Kelechi Iheanacho converted a dramatic late penalty deep into added time following a VAR review involving Sam Nicholson and Auston Trusty.
That decision completely dominated the fallout from Wednesday night, with Hearts boss Derek McInnes, Chris Sutton, pundits and supporters across Scotland all arguing over whether the spot-kick should have been awarded at all.
But hidden beneath the chaos was another huge penalty-box incident many people barely discussed.
Late in the first half, Daizen Maeda attacked a loose ball inside the Motherwell area before goalkeeper Calum Ward crashed heavily into the Celtic forward while attempting to punch clear.
Despite strong appeals from Celtic players, play continued and VAR chose not to intervene.
Interestingly, even Boyd admitted the incident looked like a genuine penalty for Celtic.
Speaking during the heated debate afterwards, the former Rangers striker acknowledged that officials may actually have overlooked an obvious foul on Maeda earlier in the match.
Boyd said: “I thought the Maeda one was a penalty last night as well.
“Because I think the goalkeeper then comes, he gets a punch in the wrist, but he knees him first.”
That admission raised eyebrows given Boyd had strongly criticised the late penalty awarded to Celtic moments later.
For many Celtic supporters, Boyd’s comments only strengthened the argument that the officiating conversation around the match has become selective depending on which decision people want to focus on.
The Maeda challenge received very little attention compared to the stoppage-time controversy, despite involving direct contact inside the penalty area and what many fans felt was a reckless collision from the Motherwell goalkeeper.
Some supporters even questioned why VAR did not instruct referee John Beaton to review the incident at the monitor considering the seriousness of the contact.
Instead, the game continued and the moment was quickly forgotten once the second-half chaos unfolded.
Chris Sutton also referenced the Maeda challenge while defending the late penalty call, suggesting the reaction towards Celtic’s winner ignored earlier moments where the Hoops themselves may have been denied major decisions.
In the end, Celtic still found a way to win through Iheanacho’s late strike, keeping the title race alive heading into Saturday’s massive showdown with Hearts at Celtic Park.
But Boyd’s unexpected admission about the Maeda incident has now added another twist to a controversy that simply refuses to disappear from Scottish football discussions.
Nafisa
