Bobby Madden has defended the assistant referee and the subsequent VAR check after Celtic were denied a second goal in their 1-0 win over St Johnstone.
The Premiership champions believed Kasper Hogh kept Sebastian Tounekti's cross in play before Haissem Hassan turned the ball into the net. However, the goal was ruled out after it hit the net, with the match officials following correct protocol before VAR reviewed the footage.
Missing Footage Raises Questions
Pundits Kris Boyd and Andy Halliday both believed the ball likely never exited the pitch, but referee Matthew McDermid was told it was not a goal after the VAR check. Celtic's chance of a U-turn was scuppered because the cross was obstructed from view in the goal-line footage before it dropped down and Hogh headed back into the path of his team-mate.
Madden, posting to his social media, said: "An interesting situation in the match between St Johnstone and Celtic where (Hassan's) goal was disallowed. In line with VAR protocols, the assistant referee delayed his flag until the goal was scored. In the exact same way as offside, the assistant should allow the play to develop and then confirm his on-field decision. VAR would then review the situation and check if the ball went out of play."
No Clear Evidence of Error
Madden added: "They would immediately go and check the goal line camera. You can see from the footage that the ball is removed from the shot for exactly 1.19 seconds; there is no way for VAR to track the ball's movement in its entirety. With this in mind, there is no clear evidence that the assistant referee made an error."
He concluded: "In short, you may believe the ball left the field of play, but no one is better placed than the assistant He followed protocol and flagged when the play was complete. In terms of refereeing, this is the correct outcome."
