Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin has taken aim at the officials after his side were thumped by Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup on Saturday. Celtic won 4-0, riding their luck early as the hosts hit the post a couple of times, and they would hit the woodwork five times by the end of the game.
But the Bhoys were ultimately good value for their win, and progressed without too much of a sweat, with Martin O'Neill also managing to make changes in the process, which could be important ahead of a busy couple of weeks that will see Celtic face LASK over two legs in the Champions League qualifiers.
But Dundee United boss Goodwin was left unhappy, with VAR deciding not to intervene after Celtic's second goal, even with a pause before the goal was awarded.
Kasper Hogh appeared to handle the ball before it dropped to teammate Camilo Duran to score from close range. The arm contact was completely unintentional, and that will have been the justifiation for VAR not getting involved, but given it led to a goal a second later, such instances are often treated with more scrutiny.
Goodwin fumes over VAR
After the game, Goodwin made his complaints known over the Duran goal. He said: "The second goal, with the timing and the nature of it, is extremely frustrating.
“I know people will say it was an accidental handball but I think common sense needs to prevail in a situation like that. Had the ball not hit the Celtic player’s hand then it wouldn’t have dropped to the feet of his team-mate.“
Goodwin added: "I think everybody can see that the Celtic player does raise his arm towards the ball. For me it’s another decision that could go in your favour, but VAR obviously didn’t think it was worth looking at.
“Sometimes you get them, sometimes you don’t. Tonight certainly we got no favours from VAR.”
Dundee certainly could have scored a few goals of their own on another day, but the woodwork kept them out on almost every occasion, with Viljami Sinisalo in the Celtic goal barely having to make a save, but his woodwork was rattled on repeat.
Celtic were far more clinical in front of goal, and that likely would have seen them win regardless of whether the Duran goal was ruled out. But whether it was a handball or not, it was surprising to not see it reviewed by the on-field referee.
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