Chris Sutton has pushed back against the widespread criticism surrounding Celtic’s late penalty against Motherwell last night.
The controversial decision at Fir Park has dominated discussion across Scottish football after VAR intervened to award Celtic a stoppage-time spot-kick for a handball by Sam Nicholson.
Kelechi Iheanacho converted from 12 yards to secure a dramatic 3-2 victory that kept Celtic firmly in contention heading into the final day.
With Hearts appearing on course to move into a commanding position before the late twist, the incident sparked outrage among pundits and supporters alike. However, Sutton believes the reaction has become excessive.
Posting on X after the match, the former Celtic striker defended referee John Beaton’s decision following the VAR review.
Now the dust has settled.. The reaction from many high profile people is way over the top. John Beaton was advised to go to the monitor and saw that the ball hit the arm in an unnatural position Bottom line is people would hate to see Celtic win the title again and that is all.
— Chris Sutton (@chris_sutton73) May 14, 2026
“Now the dust has settled…” Sutton wrote “The reaction from many high profile people is way over the top.
“John Beaton was advised to go to the monitor and saw that the ball hit the arm in an unnatural position.
“Bottom line is people would hate to see Celtic win the title again and that is all.”
Conor Spence
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