“Stop lying”, “This just shows the corruption” – Celtic fans rinse journalists claim on IFAB penalty rules

Man, the media went into overdrive over the Connor Goldson “penalty” didn’t they?

No sooner had the referee said no penalty, the hacks were making ready their excuses and circling the wagons to make sure that the VAR rebuttal by Willie Collum was effectively and quickly tossed to the side by the IFAB rules for handball.

The problem with that, of course is that for some strange reason, the IFAB rulebook wasn’t dragged out when Bernabei and O’Riley were punished for two of the most obscure handballs you will ever see at a football ground.

So the problem we have here is that by instantly defending the Goldson handball, certain people in the media have nailed their colours firmly to the mast.

And Celtic fans were extremely quick to point this out after this piece:

In today's @heraldscotland . . . IFAB rules show Connor Goldson penalty decision was called correctly by referee John Beaton in the Rangers v Celtic match at Ibrox. https://t.co/IKqe5Db0jR

— Matthew Lindsay (@MattLindsayHT) January 3, 2023

Because I certainly don’t remember Lindsay writing a piece about the injustice of Bernabei’s handball when he knew nothing about it or O’Riley being punished when the ball was played off his arm at least 10 yards to left of the Celtic goal.

It’s little wonder Celtic fans trust neither the footballing authorities to apply the rules fairly and consistently AND the media for failing to report all handball injustices as eagerly as they do with a Sevco one.

But what do we expect? Not much really, but these Celtic fans were quick to point out the hypocrisy of this particular report:

Matt has his orders, defend the indefensible…it’s what he and his brethren do. It’s why our football is stuck in the dark ages.

— Brian (@BmacTank) January 3, 2023

This just show the corruption in the @spfl

VAR should be there to help referees not make a mistake. To correct their errors.

This clearly shows that Starfelt didn’t foul Sakala and VAR should have helped clarify that.

Why did they decide otherwise?

— afc1903mad (@afc1903mad) January 3, 2023

Manipulating a rule to justify your bias is not surprising but is shameful. He moves his hands towards the ball negating the argument of protecting his face. It’s a penalty against every other team in the league and that isn’t debatable

— Stephen Coakley (@stephencoakley) January 3, 2023

No, it doesn’t..stop lying.

Goldson had his eyes closed and both hands up at his head before Starfelt even makes contact with the ball. Comparing it to a “defender naturally blocking a powerful shot from his face” is absolutely embarrassing and cringey. Standard from you.

— ᴘʙ 🍀 (@p_bov1) January 3, 2023

If this was a one off incident then you’d get away with that. The Ibrox team haven’t had a VAR decsion against them, they don’t get penalties given against them. They’re refereed to a different standard from other clubs. The SFA stinks of bigotry. The media not much better.

— Is Mise Tarlach (@Mise_Turl) January 3, 2023

The IFAB example has the guys hand on his torso. Goldson’s hand was above his head. He made himself unnaturally bigger. I am a ref based in the U.S. and ran it by some senior colleagues and an ex-FIFA referee. Their view was it was an uncontentious penalty under current rules.

— Scottish View (@Scottish_View) January 4, 2023

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