Celtic Decision Sends Rangers Fans Into Meltdown – There’s Just One Embarrassing Problem

Celtic’s 4-0 demolition of Dundee United should have been about another emphatic victory and Camilo Durán opening his account.

Instead, sections of the Rangers support have discovered another obsession: a handball law they appear convinced says something it doesn’t.

Kasper Høgh accidentally handled before Durán scored Celtic’s second at Tannadice. Social media erupted.

One X account claimed Celtic had scored a “handball goal” and United should also have received a “hand ball penalty”.

Another mocked Høgh for supposedly “slam dunking” the ball into Durán’s path.

There’s one rather embarrassing problem with the outrage.

The goal was correctly awarded.

Celtic handball outrage meets the actual law

The SFA subsequently clarified why.

Høgh’s contact was deemed accidental and occurred as a consequence of his attempt to play the ball. Crucially, Høgh didn’t score afterwards. Durán did.

IFAB Law 12 makes that distinction important.

The automatic offence concerns a player scoring immediately after the ball touches their own hand or arm, even accidentally. An accidental touch does not automatically wipe out a subsequent goal scored by a team-mate.

Former referees’ chief Keith Hackett also backed the decision, explaining that the law had changed.

Debate about consistency is perfectly legitimate. Inventing a version of the law because Celtic benefited isn’t.

Celtic controversies are becoming a familiar obsession

United also wanted a penalty following an incident involving Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Replays showed the ball striking high around the shoulder area. Again, screaming “handball” doesn’t automatically make something an offence.

The same selective outrage followed Celtic’s dramatic penalty against Motherwell last season.

Willie Collum subsequently backed that decision. VAR concluded Sam Nicholson’s arm was in an “unnatural position above shoulder height”, with Collum saying there was “clear evidence” of handball.

Yet the complaints continued.

Then came Hibs at Ibrox.

Vanja Dragojević was penalised following his challenge on Jason Kerr. The decision generated another furious debate, although subsequent explanations centred on the defender’s actions rather than simply whether he intended to commit a foul.

There is an increasingly predictable pattern.

A contentious decision benefiting Celtic becomes a conspiracy. One hurting Rangers becomes an injustice. When the written laws or official explanations support the decision, apparently those aren’t enough either.

Nobody has to like modern handball interpretations. Celtic supporters have every right to question inconsistent applications themselves.

However, there’s a considerable difference between criticising a law and pretending it doesn’t exist.

Perhaps before another weekend is spent raging about Celtic, checking Law 12 might save everyone some time.

Because on this occasion, Celtic didn’t make up the rules.

They simply benefited from officials applying them.