After Sam Nicholson challenged Auston Trusty for a long throw into the box and appeared to head it away, nothing seemed amiss and referee John Beaton spotted nothing. But, after being asked to watch it again on the VAR screen and a quick check, he awarded a penalty for handball.
Kelechi Iheanacho stepped up and converted to hand Celtic the three points. Without that, Hearts would have headed into the final day decider needing to avoid losing by three goals or more to win the title. Instead any defeat would seem them displaced and they would go on to lose 3-1, a result which would have otherwise been enough.
Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou fumed at the decision post-match, as did Hearts head coach Derek McInnes who branded it “disgusting.”
It also drew criticism from further afield with the likes of Gary Lineker getting involved to decry what they saw as a mistake and pivotal in deciding the destination of the league trophy.
Despite reports the Scottish FA are backing their officials and claiming it was the correct decision, their KMI panel yesterday ruled by 2:1 that it was in fact a mistake.
And Livingston sporting director Martindale has now revealed what Nicholson, who is now Livi-bound, told him had happened.
Speaking at the STV Scottish Football Podcast’s live show, he said: “After the game, he said ‘it’s definitely not a handball.'”
Asked “he didn’t touch it?”, he added: “No.”
The KMI panel have said Celtic shouldn’t have been awarded that penalty versus Motherwell.
During our LIVE show Davie Martindale told us that he spoke to Sam Nicholson after the game at Firpark.
(The LIVE show will be available to watch on Wednesday)#Hearts #Celtic pic.twitter.com/8D303PKCvN
— Ewen Cameron (@EwenDCameron) May 22, 2026