About the thirty-minute mark, a header from a set-piece by Lawrence Shankland struck Hoops defender Liam Scales, and Hearts had the penalty reversed against Celtic.

Hearts was originally given a penalty by referee Colin Steven; however, VAR overturned the ruling.

To the dismay of the Hearts players and supporters who rushed the referee in protest, Steven changed his mind after the VAR review.

In spite of their protests, the correct choice was taken, indicating that VAR is operating efficiently under Willie Collum’s direction and representing his new style of Scottish officiating.

Concerns regarding whether Shankland’s arm had been touched by the ball before it struck Scales caused the confusion around the reversal.

Replays made it clear that this was untrue, nevertheless.

Although this is never a penalty, it makes your blood boil to think about the penalty hearts received at Tynecastle last season following a VAR check.tweet.com/elhNXi3Ym9

— September 14, 2024, Michael Celtic (@MichaelCeltic18)

BBC Scotland pundit Liam McLeod gave an explanation of the decision-making process during halftime, elucidating the reasons used by the referee and VAR to arrive at their conclusion.

The referee first believed that Scales’ arm was in an abnormal position and that the ball had travelled a considerable distance to qualify as a handball, according to McLeod (BBC Sportsound).

But after some investigation, it was found that the arm was in its natural posture and the ball had not gone far enough to be considered a handball. The ball also struck the arm too high to result in a penalty.

Commentator Michael Stewart agreed with the outcome, saying, “Yes, the right choice was made.” Liam’s answer makes sense in light of what we saw and thought throughout the match.

“Seeing that referees are applying the rules correctly gives me comfort.”

Obviously, the appropriate choice was taken.

On Clyde 1 Super Scoreboard midweek, SFA Head of Referee Operations Willie Collum talked about the new VAR regulations and said that defenders shouldn’t be penalised for instances that happen at such close range.

Tomoki Iwata was incorrectly punished in the rematch last season because of a lack of this common sense strategy, which uses both officials and VAR.

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