Willie got it spot on but refs can give a penalty when no contact is made in tackle
SAYS
DERMOT GALLAGHER reckons Willie Collum was right to deny Odsonne Edouard a penalty.
But the former Premier League ref admits it’s“not impossible” to award spotkicks for no-contact incidents. The French striker went to ground under the challenge of Rangers full-back Borna Barisic but it was hard to tell if the Croat touched the Celtic player with his lunge as ref Collum showed a yellow card for simulation instead.
And while Gallagher sided with the SFA official in his verdict, he didn’t roundly criticise the attacker. Speaking on Sky Sports News, Gallagher said: “It’s interesting because you’ve talked to all kinds of pundits this morning and one says penalty, one says it’s not.
“The referee, if he’s not going to give a penalty has got to book him for diving and he felt there was minimal contact, he’s gone down too easily and dived.
“From this angle it’s difficult to tell but I think the referee has the best view. He’s looking at the player.
“That’s the referee’s view and that view shows the knee is buckling, if you like, and that shows it wasn’t a trip.
“In defence of Edouard, he sees the contact coming and anticipates it but the defender pulls out and it’s not a penalty.
“Once you see that clip, what the referee sees, he’s always going to yellow card him.”
But despite that initial verdict, Gallagher did admit it is possible to give spot-kicks for incidents where no contact has been made.
The 63-year-old added: “It’s difficult to give a penalty if there’s no contact because you’ve got to be convinced that the player has been impeded.
“If there’s contact it’s much easier for the referee to give a penalty.
“If there’s no contact, it’s very, very difficult to give a foul in the penalty area – but not impossible.”