A clip from Celtic’s 3–1 win over Motherwell is doing the rounds online and it rather neatly settles one of the stranger debates to emerge from the game.
During the match there were loud appeals from the visitors when Motherwell forward Tawanda Maswanhise went down inside the Celtic penalty area. At the time, some supporters claimed the referee had missed a spot kick.
John Beaton was unmoved and play continued.
In the hours since, footage of the incident has surfaced and it makes for awkward viewing if you were arguing Motherwell’s case. The replay shows Maswanhise going to ground in theatrical fashion with very little, if any, meaningful contact involved. It was embarrassing.
It is the sort of tumble that tends to drain the energy from a penalty appeal rather quickly once seen again.
Yet that has not stopped the online “debate”.
Some Motherwell supporters have continued to argue the decision should have gone their way. Perhaps more amusingly, the same argument has been picked up in some corners of Rangers social media where the result at Celtic Park has clearly been followed closely.
The logic involved has been fairly creative.
On one hand there have been claims that Celtic should never have been awarded their penalty when Daizen Maeda was dragged down at the back post from a corner. On the other, there has been insistence that Maswanhise’s fall at the other end should have resulted in a spot kick for Motherwell.
Those two arguments sit uneasily alongside each other once the footage is viewed.
Celtic’s penalty came after Motherwell defender Emmanuel Longelo wrapped his arms around Maeda and hauled him to the ground as the ball dropped for what would likely have been a simple header.
VAR referee Kevin Clancy asked John Beaton to review the incident and the referee overturned his initial decision before awarding the penalty and showing Longelo a red card for denying a clear goal scoring opportunity.
Maswanhise’s moment, by contrast, tells a very different story when slowed down.
The Motherwell forward goes to ground dramatically inside the area, but the clip shows little evidence of the sort of contact that usually convinces referees or VAR officials to intervene.
Soccer Football – Scottish League Cup – Semi Final – Celtic v Rangers – Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain – November 2, 2025 Celtic’s Daizen Maeda during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
It has not prevented some creative interpretations online, though.
Football debates never really stop just because the replay disagrees. In this case the footage leaves little doubt. One incident involved a forward being wrestled to the ground in front of goal. The other looks far closer to an embarrassing dive.
The result stood regardless.
Celtic recovered from going behind to win 3–1 at Celtic Park, a victory that now looks even bigger after Hearts’ defeat later in the evening cut the gap at the top of the Premiership to just two points.
If there’s one thing VAR should be getting used for, it’s to punish players who dive. #CelticFC pic.twitter.com/UWrgnafADO
— A Grand Old Tee (@AGrandOldTee) March 15, 2026
