Attention on officiating sprung to the forefront of many in the games’ minds as it appeared, shock horror, Celtic may have got the benefit on a very tight call against Hearts. Questions will be asked in the House. Hrrumph.
Amongst the bluster, acrimony and utterings of Sky employed empty vessels, there is only really one man who can sift through ill considered fiction and present fact – the Yorkshire Whistler!
These cover the games from match day 15 – 1st and 2nd December. I outlined a framework to assess the impact of Honest Mistakes in the SPFL.
01/12/21 Hibernian vs The Rangers
Referee John Beaton Game Minute 86th
Incident Kent falls under challenge from Porteous in the box Outcome Penalty to The Rangers Evidence BBC iPlayer - Sportscene - 2021/22: 01/12/2021
At 08:17
Yorkshire Whistler Verdict Kent is running at Porteous, checks inside and Porteous extends his left leg to make a challenge.
At normal speed my initial reaction was foul and penalty kick. Upon watching the video replay this reaction is confirmed. You could argue that the level of contact made by Porteous is not commensurate with how easily Kent goes to ground, but you cannot dispute the top of Kent’s right foot is clipped by Porteous.
Kent is already in the process of shifting his body weight so is caught off balance by the tackle.
Verdict: Correct decision.
Expected Points
Outcome
No impact
02/12/21 Celtic vs Hearts
Incident 1
Referee Bobby Madden Game Minute 33rd
Incident Ralston crosses for Furuhashi to score Outcome Goal to Celtic Evidence BBC iPlayer - Sportscene - 2021/22: Highlights: Celtic v Hearts
At 10:38
Yorkshire Whistler Verdict Overlapping by Celtic player sees a low ball whipped into box and Kyogo is on hand on slot home. Hearts defenders claim Kyogo is offside.
A very tight call for the assistant referee which to the naked eye was too close to call and so the AR keeps his flag down.
The first video replay of this goal is a similar angle to what we are used to seeing VAR used in other leagues.
From this angle you can see that Kyogo is marginally in front of the Hearts back line and also just in front of the Celtic player who crosses the ball, at the time the pass is made. A very tight call, but this goal should not have stood.
Verdict: Incorrect decision, goal should have been ruled out for offside.
Expected Points
Outcome
Celtic 0.65 xPts
Incident 2
Referee Bobby Madden Game Minute
Incident Furuhashi goes down after contact off the ball from Souttar Outcome No decision Evidence https://twitter.com/EtienneBojan/status/1466811577907224586?s=20
Yorkshire Whistler Verdict Hearts defender makes contact with Kyogos midriff.
At first glance there appears to be very minimal contact from Hearts player Soutta and most neutrals will be scratching their heads as to why Kyogo drops to the floor as if he’s been challenged or fouled off the ball.
I suspect what we are witnessing here is an example of gamesmanship from Souttar or what I refer to as the ‘dark arts’ within the game.
It’s those numerous minimal, unnecessary contacts made by players who are taking advantage of fact that football is a contact sport and who then try to pass of these unnecessary contacts as ‘accidental’.
It’s a more murky underlying part of the game that exists and is so difficult to referee/manage. I suspect Souttar is basically trying to get an act of retaliation out of Kyogo by nipping his skin.
I’ve seen it numerous times where two opposing players come together, and there is a sly pinch of skin unseen by everyone else, which causes the other player to lash out and potentially be sent off as a result.
This is only one example of many incidents that take in place on the field of play during a game. Unofficially this kind of thing is encouraged by management and is akin to that popular phrase heard in dressing rooms up and down the country ‘let him know you’re there’!
So. coming back to the incident with Kyogo, it is virtually impossible for the ref to both see the contact but also be certain how ‘malicious’ this “accidental” stomach contact was.
Therefore, the no foul decision is correct, assuming the referee has even seen the contact in the first place.
Kyogo probably knows this already and does the only thing he can. A theatrical ‘have you seen this ref? display which, granted looks theatrical and exaggerated, but should refocus the referee to looking for any future contact between these players. Souttar will be thinking, ‘I’ve got away with it so far, best be careful now’!
Expected Points
Outcome
No impact
Summary
My thanks as always to the Yorkshire Whistler.
Looks like the one big wrong call this week went in Celtic’s favour.
Expected Points Table
The Expected Points table is therefore:

At the moment, based on xPts, Celtic have 1.08 less points than expected due to Honest Mistakes and The Rangers have 2.1 more points than expected.
That is a 3.18 xPts swing.
The current gap at the top of the table is 4 points.