Scottish FA chief Willie Collum admits Celtic should have received penalty against Motherwell

Scottish FA head of refereeing Willie Collum has acknowledged that Celtic should have been awarded a penalty during their 2-0 victory over Motherwell at Fir Park.

Martin O’Neill’s side secured all three points, but there was a contentious moment when Callum McGregor’s effort struck the arm of Motherwell midfielder Lukas Fadinger.

The on-field officials decided against awarding a spot-kick, judging that Fadinger’s arm was not in an unnatural position when the ball made contact. However, a subsequent review of the incident has led to a different conclusion from the Scottish FA’s refereeing department.

Collum admitted that Celtic should have been given a penalty, explaining that although Fadinger’s elbow appeared tucked in, the position of his arm created an unnecessary risk.

He said: “I think the elbow’s tucked in, but the Motherwell player takes a real risk by his arm out from the body here.

“And in our opinion, after reviewing this incident, our coaching going forward is that this should be a penalty kick, should be awarded in this incident.”

Collum also questioned whether the proximity of McGregor’s shot was close enough to justify the original decision not to penalise the Motherwell player.

He stressed that the incident should be treated consistently with other handball decisions and outlined how officials are expected to handle similar situations in the future.

“I don’t think it’s very, very close.

“If we’re saying that we can award a penalty kick for the Milne incident, then we also need to consider this.

“But to be very clear and transparent, our coaching going forward here is that if this is not identified on the field, we expect a penalty kick to be awarded after the referee goes to the monitor.”

Collum’s comments provide clarity on the Scottish FA’s interpretation of the incident and indicate that referees will be expected to award penalties in comparable situations when a review identifies an offence.

Although Celtic won the match without needing the decision, the admission is likely to renew debate about consistency in refereeing decisions and the use of VAR in Scottish football.