Alistair Johnston admits Celtic got the break they needed at Fir Park on Wednesday night, but the defender insists there is little point dwelling on the outrage surrounding the late penalty decision now.
Kelechi Iheanacho scored from the spot after referee John Beaton was sent to the monitor by VAR official Andrew Dallas to review Sam Nicholson’s handball inside the box.
The decision sparked huge reaction online, across television coverage and from clubs involved in the title race itself.
Johnston was not on the pitch when the incident happened after already being substituted during the second half.
Speaking on Friday ahead of Celtic’s title decider against Hearts, the Canadian admitted the decision was probably one Celtic would not have enjoyed if it had gone against them.
At the same time, he felt the call ultimately fell into the type of subjective VAR moment that happens throughout a season.
Johnston addressed the controversy during his media conference at Lennoxtown.
He said: (Celtic FC YouTube), “Honestly, I didn’t really see it. I was on the bench at that point. We couldn’t really tell what happened. If Trusty had gotten hit, just kind of an awkward coming together.
“Obviously then when he goes over to VAR, you’re not 100 per cent sure what was the call.
“I saw it after. It’s one of those ones that, yeah, if it’s happening against you, are you thrilled? No.
“But at the same time, hand is in kind of a weird spot. You leave it up to interpretation. We’re just lucky at the end of the day that it was on our side for a change.
“Sometimes through the course of a season, you’re going to have VAR calls that go for you. You’re going to have ones that go against you. It’s just the name of the game.
“And luckily for us, it went for us.
“But that being said, Kelechi still had to step up and put it away and talk about a pressurised situation. He’s come through for us now on a couple of big occasions in these past couple of weeks.
“So I was glad I wasn’t taking that pen, let’s just say that. And I was really, really happy when I saw it hit the back of the net.”
He added: “Yeah, if you get caught up in that, then you’re going to go down a pretty dark rabbit hole, I think there.
“Every single decision up here in Scotland, I think it’s magnified to a whole other degree when it comes to us.
“So look, it is what it is. No matter what people say on social media or what they don’t say, it’s not going to change what’s happened.
“So we just kind of look, alright, that’s happened Wednesday night. We’ve got to get ready for a title decider on Saturday afternoon.
“If you go down those rabbit holes, okay, but it’s not going to change the fact that we need to win on Saturday at 12:30. And that’s where our minds are.”
That focus now shifts entirely toward Hearts.
Celtic know only a win at Celtic Park will secure the title after Wednesday night’s drama kept the race alive heading into the final afternoon.
