Steven Naismith Sparks Controversy With Odd Comments on Celtic Penalty Decision

Hearts manager Steven Naismith made some baffling comments post-match this afternoon after his side’s 2-0 defeat to Celtic at Celtic Park.

VAR played a significant role in the Game, with a controversial moment involving Liam Scales in the first half.

A handball from a Lawrence Shankland header during a set piece was initially awarded as a penalty, but after reviewing the footage at the monitor, referee Colin Steven correctly overturned his original decision.

VAR intervened again early in the second half after a Nicolas Kühn cross appeared to strike the arm of Hearts defender James Penrice.

Referee Colin Steven initially hesitated to award a penalty, waiting for VAR’s review before heading to the monitor for the second time.

After reviewing the footage, he ultimately decided to award Celtic the penalty.

Hearts player both hands move to the ball stonewall penalty. Celtic player hand does not move, ball is headed of his hand and was never a penalty. pic.twitter.com/wuNI70Fadt

— Michael Celtic (@MichaelCeltic18) September 14, 2024

Naismith said: (Daily Record),“I don’t think our penalty is a penalty in the guidelines in terms of the distance between the players, but I also don’t think theirs is a penalty. It’s down to opinion. With the images we were shown before the season, it’s all down to distance.

“It hits his arm, but for me there’s nothing Penrice can do. The motion is the one that we were shown in pre-season. So I disagree with that and that’s a big moment in the Game.”

Naismith couldn’t be more wrong with his comments.

Penrice clearly moved his hands towards the ball, whereas Scales did not, which is the clear difference in why a penalty was awarded in one instance and not the other.

Naismith could benefit from studying Willie Collum’s midweek comments on handball, where the SFA’s head of operations was crystal clear on how handballs will be judged this season under his oversight.