Celtic’s McGregor Handball Penalty Call Must Be Called Out

Celtic won 2-0 at Fir Park, Jota returned and the team gave supporters plenty to celebrate. But a major penalty call still deserves scrutiny.

Callum McGregor’s strike was blocked inside the Motherwell penalty area by Liam Fadinger. There was a brief VAR check for a possible handball, but play continued and Celtic received nothing. To my eye, the ball struck an arm that was away from the defender’s body, stopping a shot travelling towards goal.

What do the handball rules say?

The law does not say that every ball-to-hand contact is an offence. The key question is whether the player’s arm was in a position justified by their movement, or whether it made their body unnaturally bigger.

That matters here. If the arm is extended away from the body and blocks a shot, the fact that the player may not have meant to handle the ball does not automatically make it acceptable. IFAB’s own example says that an extended arm, not supporting the player’s body and not justified by the movement, is a handball offence. Inside the penalty area, the restart is a penalty.

The ball’s direction is not the only test. But it matters to the scale of the incident: McGregor had struck towards goal, and the contact stopped the ball continuing on its path. Without the block, Celtic had a chance of scoring. That is exactly why these decisions need careful, consistent review.

A VAR check is not enough

The officials checked the incident, yet the decision stood. Celtic supporters deserve to know how that arm position was judged natural and why the contact did not meet the handball threshold.

We should be able to celebrate a good Celtic performance and still question a decision that may have denied the team a clear opportunity. Winning does not make an important call disappear. In fact, if we only raise these incidents after defeats, the response can be dismissed as frustration over dropped points.

Celtic have seen too many contentious calls become brief talking points before everyone moves on. Every significant incident should be examined on its own merits, whether Celtic win, draw or lose. That is not asking for special treatment. It is asking for the same law to be applied consistently.

From the available footage, I believe Celtic should have been awarded a penalty for the handball on McGregor’s strike. The decision needs to be discussed, and the standard applied to it needs to be clear. Celtic’s win was deserved. That does not mean this call should be forgotten.