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Kettlewell Accepts SFA Rationale on Celtic Penalty, Warns Precedent Set

He says referees must now apply the same judgment to similar handballs or the Rugby Park call was wrong.

Overview

  • The Kilmarnock manager accepted the SFA’s post-match explanation that Lewis Mayo’s arm was in an unnatural position for the added-time decision against Celtic.
  • Referee John Beaton awarded the penalty after a VAR pitch-side review of James Forrest’s shot that deflected off Robbie Deas onto Mayo’s arm, and Kelechi Iheanacho converted for a 2-1 win.
  • Kettlewell said the ruling establishes a standard for handball and warned that comparable incidents should now result in penalties to maintain fairness.
  • He predicted “an awful lot of penalties” and significant frustration if those situations are consistently given, while insisting clubs generally do not want such calls.
  • Kettlewell has not sought further clarification from referees chief Willie Collum, saying the VAR review and SFA statement already provided the answer.