James McFadden Explains Why Celtic’s Disallowed Goal Could Not Be Overturned by VAR

Celtic’s 1-0 victory over St Johnstone was overshadowed by a major talking point involving a disallowed second goal on Wednesday night.

The Hoops appeared to have doubled their advantage when Haissem Hassan finished off a well-worked move involving Sebastian Tounekti and Kasper Høgh. Tounekti sent a cross towards the penalty area, with Høgh getting his head to the ball and directing it into Hassan’s path.

The winger then calmly found the net, only for the assistant referee to raise his flag and signal that the ball had gone out of play before Høgh’s intervention.

The decision immediately sparked debate, with Sky Sports pundits discussing whether the entire ball had actually crossed the touchline. Given the lack of a definitive camera angle, however, former Scotland international James McFadden explained why VAR was never in a position to overturn the original decision.

McFadden acknowledged that he believed the ball had probably remained in play, but stressed that VAR requires conclusive evidence before an on-field decision can be changed.

🗣️ “I think it’s in play.”

🗣️ “You need definitive proof to tell the assistant he’s wrong; you don’t have that here.”

McFadden explained that the assistant referee was in the best position to make the initial call and had judged that the ball had crossed the line.

“There’s no way of telling and you have to go with the on-field decision,” McFadden said.

He pointed out that officials need clear evidence when determining whether a ball has completely crossed a line. In this case, the available footage did not provide an uninterrupted view of the ball as it approached the touchline.

According to McFadden, that meant VAR could not establish beyond doubt that the assistant referee had made an error.

The Sky Sports pundit added that supporters and pundits could argue that the ball appeared to remain in play, but that was not sufficient grounds for VAR to intervene.

The former Celtic player concluded that there was simply no conclusive evidence available to prove the assistant referee’s decision was incorrect, meaning the original call had to stand.

McFadden later reiterated that the unfortunate outcome for Tounekti and Hassan was that the assistant referee had deemed the ball out of play and there was no reliable way for VAR to determine whether that assessment was wrong.

Kris Boyd, meanwhile, offered a different view on what actually happened. The former Rangers striker admitted that he believed the ball had stayed in play and that Celtic should have been awarded the goal.

However, Boyd accepted McFadden’s explanation of the VAR protocol and acknowledged that the lack of definitive evidence meant the officials had little choice but to stick with the original decision.

🗣️ “I think it’s in play. But James has explained the rules and you’ve got to go with that as well.”

The incident is therefore likely to remain a source of frustration for Celtic, but McFadden’s explanation highlights the crucial distinction between believing an official has made the wrong call and having enough evidence to overturn it through VAR.