Kelechi Iheanacho stepped up to score a late winner at Rugby Park from 12 yards
20:12, 14 Sep 2025Updated 20:24, 14 Sep 2025
Kilmarnock defender Lewis Mayo is punished for handball against Celtic following a VAR check
Michael Stewart has told the SFA they got three things wrong in their assessment of Celtic‘s late penalty awarded against Kilmarnock.
Stuart Kettlewell fumed following the full-time whistle at Rugby Park after the ball struck Lewis Mayo’s arm after deflecting off team-mate Robbie Deas at close range.
Referee John Beaton had initially waved for play with the Premiership clash poised at 1-1 in the final moments of the clash.
However, Matthew MacDermid in the VAR room sent Beaton to review the flashpoint on the pitch-side monitor.
The man in the middle would point to the spot allowing Kelechi Iheanacho to win the showdown with the final kick of the game.
The SFA would release guidance on the incident after the game, reading: “The penalty was awarded for handball by the Kilmarnock defender whose arm is in an unnatural position.
“A deflection doesn’t always negate a handball offence. He doesn’t know where ball is going and his arm is up in an unnatural position to block a shot.”
But former Hearts and Hibs midfielder Stewart was left unimpressed. After being read the Hampden chiefs taken on the big cal, he told BBC Sportscene: “If it doesn’t negate, it would be great for them to tell us why it doesn’t negate in this instance.
“To come out with a general comment like that just smacks of ‘we are doubling down’.
“And the hand is in an unnatural position? I would disagree with that completely. It comes down to that the hand is in an unnatural position, if the movement doesn’t indicate that the hand should be in that position.
Lewis Mayo of Kilmarnock handles the ball(Image: Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock)
“Now, he is trying to get his leg across to block the shot – his arm, if you look at it, is a completely normal position due to the action he has taken.
“I find it staggering that they could comment and say ‘the deflection doesn’t always negate’ – this deflection literally changes the angle of the ball completely, from a foot away, off a teammate.
“So, proximity, deflection and – to me – the arm isn’t in an unnatural position. I think it’s an extremely harsh decision.
“I think as soon as John Beaton is sent to the monitor it becomes difficult for him to turn around and say no penalty, because it clearly does strike the arm, but I would have liked to think the official could have seen through that and made his own mind up.
“Clearly, it’s not been the case and I’ve got a lot of sympathy for Kilmarnock. I think any team that had that decision given against them would be extremely unhappy.”
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