Stand-in Celtic captain Cameron Carter-Vickers has claimed that there was vast confusion among both sets of players when Tomoki Iwata was harshly penalised for a handball in the first half of the Hoops’ 2-0 defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle on Sunday.
The ball fell on the arm of the Japanese midfielder – who was nudged by Stephen Kingsley – and although referee Don Robertson waved away the incident, John Beaton got involved on VAR and a spot-kick was awarded to the Jambos. Jorge Grant converted.
Among Celtic fans watching at home and around the world on their TVs, there was a sense of frustration at the decision but those on the pitch were left confused.
Indeed, Carter-Vickers has admitted no Celtic or Hearts players knew who the handball was given against: “I don’t think a single player on the pitch knew who had handballed it”, he said (Glasgow Times).
“I think most people on the pitch thought it was Ali, Ali Johnston, who handballed it. Obviously it wasn’t, it was Tomo.”
This lack of cohesion doesn’t come as much of a surprise and is an indication of how poor and shocking the decision to award Hearts a penalty was.
Inconsistency regarding these types of incidents has been common throughout the season, and Carter-Vickers believes they are only natural due to the physical nature of football: “When you are jumping for the ball, your arms naturally come up”, quipped the defender.
“On top of that, there is a lot of pushing and shoving that goes on which can move your body and make it seem like it moves in the direction of the ball when you never meant to do it.”
