The handball legislation is complicated at the perfect of occasions, however one issue has at all times outweighed some other.
If the arm is above shoulder top, a participant is taken into account to be taking an enormous threat and there’s a a lot larger probability of being penalised.
As Nicholson came upon on Wednesday, if the VAR thinks the ball has touched his hand or arm at head top, then it’s more likely to be given as a penalty.
Some will argue that the arm was in that place solely as a result of he was in a duel with Celtic’s Auston Trusty, however that may carry minimal weight.
However there’s one massive drawback.
Can we make certain it did hit the arm in any respect? And if there’s doubt, how may it’s a transparent and apparent error for the VAR to inform the referee he ought to award a match-winning penalty?
The way in which the ball flew again out of play for a throw-in needed to recommend it got here off Nicholson’s head, so the VAR should assume it got here off his hand on the identical time too.
It simply appears exceptionally harsh to punish this with a penalty because the ball brushing the arm had no materials impact on the place the ball ended up. That was all concerning the energy generated by the top.
The angles proven to referee John Beaton on the monitor regarded removed from conclusive, but he solely wanted 20 seconds to make his choice. The VAR, Andrew Dallas, will need to have spoken with nice certainty.
Nevertheless it leaves a bitter style at an important second within the title race.
Out of the blue, it’s tilted into Celtic’s favour due to a questionable, stoppage-time VAR intervention.
