Agbonlahor slams what referee did earlier than VAR Celtic penalty in West Ham comparability

talkSPORT pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor has weighed in along with his say on Celtic and their last-gasp penalty to arrange a mouth-watering Scottish Premiership title decider in opposition to Hearts on Saturday.

Celtic seal dramatic late win at Motherwell through controversial penalty

It was the form of night time that shall be talked about in Scotland for years to return.

Celtic travelled to Fir Park on Wednesday figuring out something lower than a win may finish their title problem.

They had been trailing. They had been stage. They had been trailing once more. After which, within the 99th minute, with the sport deep into stoppage time and the match practically over, VAR intervened — and all the things modified.

Referee John Beaton was known as to the pitchside monitor by video assistant Andrew Dallas after the ball appeared to strike Sam Nicholson’s raised hand because the Motherwell defender tried to move an extended throw away from his penalty space.

Beaton took one look and pointed to the spot.

Kelechi Iheanacho, who had solely come off the bench within the seventieth minute, stepped up and despatched goalkeeper Calum Ward the mistaken manner. Celtic Park on Saturday was again on.

The drama at Fir Park was extraordinary.

Motherwell had taken the lead by means of an Elliot Watt strike within the seventeenth minute, and for a spell they seemed greater than able to holding on. Daizen Maeda — within the type of his life with 12 league objectives and 6 assists this season — equalised earlier than the break, and Benjamin Nygren’s gorgeous 25-yard effort on 58 minutes turned the sport on its head.

Celtic appeared to be cruising in the direction of all three factors.

Then Liam Gordon struck within the eighty fifth minute to stage it at 2-2, and immediately the maths shifted dramatically. Had the sport ended there, Martin O’Neill‘s facet would have wanted to beat Hearts by a landslide on Saturday to overturn the purpose distinction hole.

As an alternative, Iheanacho’s penalty means Celtic merely have to win.

Hearts, for his or her half, had executed their job.

A 3-0 house victory over Falkirk earlier within the night maintained their one-point lead on the prime of the desk, and celebrations had been properly underway at Tynecastle earlier than information of Iheanacho’s spot-kick filtered by means of.

Derek McInnes’ facet are nonetheless accountable for their very own future — keep away from defeat at Celtic Park on Saturday, and they are going to be topped champions of Scotland for the primary time since 1960.

However the temper has shifted, and what seemed like a coronation now appears like a knife-edge.

Gabriel Agbonlahor makes Celtic penalty declare in West Ham comparability

The penalty choice itself has sparked fierce debate.

talkSPORT pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor was unimpressed, drawing a pointed comparability with the controversial West Ham disallowed purpose in opposition to Arsenal within the Premier League.

The distinction Agbonlahor highlights is a good one.

VAR choices within the Premier League have frequently taken a number of minutes of cautious evaluate, with referees finding out a number of angles earlier than reaching a conclusion.

At Fir Park, Beaton’s go to to the monitor was transient — a fast look on the footage earlier than making a name that would in the end resolve the vacation spot of a league title.

Whether or not the choice was right or not, the pace with which it was reached will go away a bitter style for Motherwell and Hearts followers alike.

For O’Neill, it was a well-recognized story. His earlier journey to Fir Park as Celtic supervisor, again in 2005, noticed Scott McDonald’s late double hand Rangers the title in agonising style.

This time, the late drama labored in his favour.

Saturday’s title decider kicks off at 12:30pm. Celtic Park shall be electrical. Hearts shall be prepared, and the ghosts of Wednesday night time will dangle over each second.