Why Nicolas Kuhn was not sent for celebrating with Celtic fans

Celtic returned to winning ways this weekend after that 7-1 loss at the hands of Borussia Dortmund away at Signal Iduna Park a few days ago. But it was far from an easy afternoon for Brendan Rodgers' side. In fact, they conceded for the first time this season to go a goal down against Ross County. The Hoops showed the heart of champions though, mounting a late comeback to secure the win and the three points.

Alistair Johnston got the equaliser. And then Nicolas Kuhn found the winner minutes before full-time in a brilliant comeback victory for Celtic that will send the players into the international break on a positive note.

The day was not without controversy though. Some rival fans questioned why Kuhn was not shown a second yellow card for celebrating his late goal with the Celtic fans.

Well, now we have an answer to that question. And as it turns out, the referee made the right decision by not sending Kuhn off for his celebrations.

Why Nicolas Kuhn was not sent for celebrating with Celtic fans

The question was raised on social media. Behind The Whistles, a podcast with former SFA Category 1 Referees Des Roache and Steve Conroy, decided to clarify the situation. The account tweeted out the explanation for the decision surrounding Kuhn's celebrations. They wrote:

"Under the current wording, It’s no longer an automatic yellow card and the current wording is rather ambiguous. Referees considerations on this one is it excessive causing time wasting and did it cause safety concerns or a security issue. For us there wasn’t an indication of time wasting as Kevin Clancy appeared to only wave them back once and didn’t approach them to get them back on the park. However the big question is whether going to the crowd breaches that Safety/security wording. Appreciating the passion of a Player who believes he’s just won a game. He’s lucky as being on a yellow he could have walked if Kevin Clancy took a stern line."

So, there you go. Kuhn was not shown a yellow card because it is no longer an automatic one. That will hopefully clear up all the controversy surrounding the decision from Kevin Clancy.

Of course, there are many who never agreed with the idea of players being carded for celebrating with the fans. That is just part of the game. It is the passion that supporters hope to see from those on the pitch. Thankfully, some changes have been made.