Former SFA referees Des Roache and Steve Conroy, speaking via their Refs View podcast account on X, have taken aim at a highly debatable call made by referee Nick Walsh during Celtic’s victory over Dundee United.
The flashpoint revolves around an incident involving Daizen Maeda and the revised “8-second” rule, which was brought in over the summer to crack down on time-wasting by goalkeepers.
Under this regulation, a goalkeeper is required to release the ball from his hands within eight seconds; failure to do so should lead to a corner being awarded to the attacking side.
On this occasion, Walsh failed to apply the rule. Instead, he handed Dundee United a free-kick, despite the goalkeeper retaining possession for 17 seconds – well beyond the allowed limit.
As a result, Celtic were denied a possible corner, a decision that quickly drew attention on Twitter.
The Refs View podcast posted:
“‘8 second’ Law was introduced to prevent time wasting by the GK. it was introduced to prevent this very scenario. Penalising Maeda was an absolute nonsense & purely a deflection by the Referee.”
The podcast hosts stressed that the very purpose of the updated law is to stop exactly this type of delay. Yet Maeda was punished, and United were awarded a set-piece, even though the goalkeeper had clearly exceeded the eight-second threshold.
This call, along with another contentious incident earlier in the match involving Julian Araujo’s challenge – which many believed warranted a red card – contributed to a frustrating afternoon for match officials.
Football supporters consistently call for consistency, and it remains important to highlight questionable decisions whether teams are winning or losing.