Celtic fans know that when Rangers need a penalty helping hand, they will get one, especially when points are on the line.
This week’s episode arrived for Celtic fans courtesy of Rangers’ visit to Livingston, complete with outrage, slow-motion clips and familiar cries for VAR justice.
The Rangers penalty incident at Livingston
Late in the game, Mikey Moore went down under pressure from a Livingston defender. And as Celtic fans know all too well, calls for a penalty followed.
Social media quickly filled with claims that yet another clear decision had gone against Rangers.
However, former referee Mark Clattenburg offered a rather less dramatic interpretation of events.
Clattenburg Applies the Rules
Speaking about the flashpoint, Clattenburg told Rangers News: “Mikey Moore was surely fouled late in the game by a Livingston defender. The foul started outside the penalty area and continued inside.
“However, as the foul started outside and happened outside, a free kick should have been awarded.”
In other words, the location of the initial contact is decisive. If it begins outside the box, the restart follows accordingly. It’s not a matter of opinion, it’s written into the laws of the game.
The same laws Rangers fans ironically use to prove that they are the same club!
Why VAR Could Not Intervene
For those expecting technology to step in, Clattenburg was equally clear: “The referee missed this, and VAR could not interfere as it was not a red card for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, as there was a covering defender.”
No red card. No denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity. That meant VAR had no grounds to intervene, and the original on-field decision stood.
Celtic fans watch Rangers meltdown
While Rangers cry, Celtic supporters enjoyed what began as a supposed stonewall penalty, slowly transformed into a missed free kick outside the area. Not quite the injustice narrative that had been drafted in advance.
Sometimes the simplest explanation is the correct one. It wasn’t a penalty, despite the Scottish media’s outrage, and even an ex-referee had to spell it out.
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Celtic fans are debating this right now in The Jungle 🍀
Opinions are split. Some fans see it one way, others see it very differently.
The conversation is already live in The Jungle — the Born Celtic forum where proper football arguments happen without algorithms deciding who gets heard.
