Celtic denied, Rangers protected from a penalty: Collum exposes the failures
The same officials made two admitted penalty errors. Celtic lost out in one; Rangers benefited in the other.
Phillip Cooney 
Celtic denied, Rangers spared. Willie Collum’s latest admissions leave Scottish football facing an uncomfortable contrast that supporters have every right to challenge.
The Scottish FA’s head of refereeing has acknowledged two penalty errors: one deprived Celtic of a spot-kick at Motherwell; another spared Rangers conceding one against St Mirren.
The same two officials were involved in both matches.
For me, that demands considerably more than another explanation after the damage is done.
Celtic penalty denied despite VAR
At Fir Park on 11 October, Callum McGregor’s shot struck Lukas Fadinger’s arm. Celtic received a corner.
Steven McLean refereed, with Don Robertson on VAR. Neither delivered the penalty Collum now accepts should have been awarded.
Celtic won 2–0, but that cannot excuse the failure. Winning does not cancel our entitlement to correct decisions.
Why should supporters accept technology that records an incident clearly enough for a later admission, yet fails to produce the right outcome during the match?
Rangers benefited when the roles were reversed
Against St Mirren at Ibrox, Robertson refereed while McLean operated VAR.
Emmanuel Fernandez caught Ismeal Kabia inside the box with the match goalless. St Mirren received nothing; Rangers eventually won 1–0.
Collum’s assessment was unequivocal: “a penalty kick, without question”.
Same officials. Different roles. Two failures, with Celtic disadvantaged and Rangers benefiting.
That contrast fuels suspicions of unequal treatment. Collum must answer those concerns through demonstrably consistent officiating and meaningful accountability.
Another handball dispute that same weekend
Kevin Kelsy’s goal against Kilmarnock on 10 October also prompted a handball complaint from Neil McCann.
Bobby Madden defended the decision, arguing that the footage did not clearly establish arm contact. That incident remains disputed.
The following day, however, Celtic were denied a penalty that Collum now acknowledges.
Supporters deserve transparent explanations of the evidence required for VAR intervention.
Celtic supporters remember earlier failures
McLean officiated the 2015 Inverness semi-final, when Josh Meekings’ hand stopped Leigh Griffiths’ header without a penalty.
Robertson awarded Ross County’s 2017 penalty after Alex Schalk went down without contact.
Those failures predated VAR. Technology has arrived; the frustration remains.
We demand accountability from Celtic’s leadership and coaching staff. Officials deserve equally searching scrutiny.
Collum must explain what changes when established referees keep getting major decisions wrong. Celtic deserve fairness during matches, not vindication weeks afterwards.
Obviously nobody from the refereeing department learns anything new from weekly incompetent and ineptitude performances from it’s members ? Every week -with a few exceptions – there is a well rehearsed show and story from Collum about the deficiencies from match officials in doing their jobs to a satisfactory standard ? Four or five days after the event and timed to perfection where fans are preparing for the next game in another day or so ..hoping they forget the previous ‘ screwed up ‘ decisions of the last game ! All manufactured and managed by an outfit of officials who would not have one representative of theirs considered able and capable enough to referee a World Cup match this past Summer…. all uninvited ? Not a single one was deemed good enough to represent Scotland’s pool of referees ! Talk about embarrassing ! ………