Bobby Madden is adamant that Celtic's second goal in their 4-0 thumping of Dundee United on Saturday should have been chalked off for a handball. The former Premiership and English FA whistler insists Camilo Duran's strike would never have been allowed to stand under UEFA regulations on an 'accidental handball'.
Controversial Goal at Tannadice
Martin O'Neill's side set up a Premier Sports Cup quarter final clash with arch rivals Rangers with a handsome win at Tannadice, but controversy arose midway through the second half after summer signing Camilo Duran put them 2-0 up. The Colombian striker converted from close range after fellow new recruit Kasper Hogh saw an initial effort blocked.
Replay showed that the ball had struck Denmark star Hogh's arm seconds before the goal, but following a short VAR review, on-field referee Steven McLean was instructed to award the goal. That decision perplexed defeated United boss Jim Goodwin after the game, with the Irishman questioning why the VAR team at Clydesdale House did not intervene to overturn Duran's goal.
Madden Cites UEFA's New Platform
Shortly after the full-time whistle in Tayside, SFA head of referees Willie Collum released a statement backing the handball call, arguing that the incident did not merit a foul being awarded against the Parkhead giants. But that's a view that former referee Madden does not share, with the Scot referencing two other examples in high profile games where goals were overturned because of a handball.
Writing on Instagram, he said: "A much discussed decision at Tannadice yesterday was Celtic's second goal. Ball contact on the arm of a teammate of the goalscorer. I'd like to point you in the direction of a fantastic new platform released by UEFA just six days ago called Player Online. You can get that on their social media or their website."
"This platform was designed to inform everyone interested in football regarding the laws of the game, guidelines, criteria, and media examples. All the decisions are covered. After Celtic's disallowed goal yesterday, some supporters were confused. This platform clears that up."
UEFA Rules on Accidental Handball
Madden explained: "Let's start with UEFA's law in its current phase. We go to VAR and accidental handball in the buildup. You can see here we talk about the criteria. It says that any handball that's missed in the buildup should be identified by VAR and the goal disallowed. The rationale says a goal attained after a handball cannot stand."
"It uses this clip between Switzerland and Spain as an example. In this clip, the goal is scored after an accidental handball by the hand of the teammate long before the goal was scored. UEFA are absolutely clear that this goal should be disallowed. They also talk about a game between Inter Milan and Liverpool in the Champions League last season for this accidental contact where a teammate headers the ball onto the arm before it goes to another teammate who also scored. UEFA were clear that this goal should also be disallowed."
Madden also noted an incident in the opening weekend of the Scottish season where Falkirk were denied an equalizer against St Mirren, disallowed for in-play contact on the arm of a teammate directly before the ball goes to a teammate to score. He added: "It's not the first time it's happened. The challenge is understanding why there are four instances here where the VAR has only intervened in three cases. This platform is an absolute godsend and can act as a guide to everyone involved."
