Hearts were given a controversial penalty after an apparent handball from Celtic midfielder Tomoki Iwata.
Despite referee Don Robertson not initially judging the incident as a handball in real time, he was called to the VAR monitor for review.
Robertson then pointed to the penalty spot, marking one of the most controversial decisions of the season
🗣️ "Hearts may not be in this title race but they could be having a say in it!"
Jorge Grant puts the home side in front against Celtic after VAR awarded a penalty for handball. What are your thoughts on the incident? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/8rdUVTHYwO
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) March 3, 2024
It’s unclear what Iwata could do with his arm when the ball comes down because he was in a natural position and didn’t make himself appear larger, which means it wasn’t a deliberate handball.
Hearts midfielder Jorge Grant then slotted the penalty past Joe Hart to give the Edinburgh side the lead.
A second Hearts goal was rightly ruled out for offside against Lawrence Shankland after Tomoki Iwata was dispossessed by Beni Baningime.
🗣️ "It is only 1-0 and that was tight!"
Lawrence Shankland thought he had doubled Hearts' lead over Celtic before the break but his goal was disallowed after a long VAR check for offside. Watch analysis of the first-half live on @SkyFootball 📺 pic.twitter.com/djsV8437dj
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) March 3, 2024
Brendan Rodgers will be desperate to turn things around in the second half, with Kyogo Furuhashi replacing Paulo Bernardo at halftime in a very attacking substitution.
In an attempt to change the course of the game, with the Hoops down to 10 men after a disappointing first half, which also saw Adam Idah miss a penalty.
