Dundee United have contacted the SFA to review all video and audio relating to a goal disallowed against Hibs on Wednesday night. Michael Nicholson and the Celtic executives haven’t made any comment on the Daizen Maeda goal against Hibs that was mysteriously disallowed.
Had Sam Dalby’s effort stood United would have gone 2-1 in front midway through the second half, Hibs went on to score two goals in the time added for the VAR check to win 3-1 and draw level on points with Jim Goodwin’s side on 40 points.
Just like at Easter Road on Saturday, the match referee, David Dickinson saw nothing wrong with Dalby’s goal.
Matthew MacDermind, one of the rising stars on the refereeing circuit initially checked for offside in his VAR role, when he failed to find the evidence he opted for handball. Television evidence is inconclusive.
With a sub-standard VAR system and a generation of officials groomed by Hugh Dallas and Willie Collum refereeing in Scotland is fast heading towards crisis point.
Collum’s alleged introduction of transparency has turned into a joke with 24 matches a month covered in a highly selective 25 minute monthly VAR Review on You Tube.
Celtic were subjected to a similar decision against Hibs on Saturday, a ‘goal’ from Daizen Maeda was disallowed by Alan Muir on VAR with no evidence offered to back up that decision.
Muir was involved with Steven McLean in the Josh Meekings handball at the 2015 Scottish Cup semi-final that cost Celtic a cup final place against Falkirk, a decade on he is still delivering puzzling decisions with no accountability.
2 minutes 10 seconds for the disallowed ‘goal’
Showing Nicholson how to deal with similar issues and to offer an explanation to their fans Dundee United aren’t taking last night’s decision lying down as The Courier reports:
Dundee United have contacted the Scottish FA to demand all video and audio footage relating to Sam Dalby’s contentious disallowed goal against Hibernian.
The Tangerines believed they had taken a 2-1 lead against the capital club on Wednesday evening when Dalby brilliantly powered home a Ryan Strain delivery.
However, a lengthy check followed as the VAR team, led by Matthew MacDermid, checked whether the big striker had strayed offside.
With the lines unable to be drawn, Dalby had to be deemed onside – only for the effort to subsequently be chalked off for a handball.
Given the on-field official David Dickinson awarded the goal, a clear and obvious error is required for that to be overturned. Yet, no available angle has yet shown a handball by Dalby.
Footage suggests that the ball may have brushed Nectarios Triantis’ arm, however Dalby appears to win a clean header at the back post.
Incredibly, Dickinson was not even referred to the monitor, with “a factual” decision being made by the VAR team.
Courier Sport understands irate United chiefs see the decision as incomprehensible and are seeking urgent talks with the SFA after becoming increasingly disillusioned by the level of officiating in their fixtures.
They have also demanded to hear the audio of the decision being made – in full – and to be shown the camera angle which provided McDermid with such a steadfast belief than Dalby handled the ball.
The United website reported:
It looked certain we had retaken the lead as Dalby bulleted home a header at the back post after a wicked set-piece delivery from Strain.
However, after originally awarding the goal, a VAR check that dragged on for almost six farcical minutes prompted referee David Dickinson to overturn his decision. It was initially investigated for offside, but with the lines unable to be drawn due to a cluster of bodies in the box, Dalby was deemed onside – only for it to be chalked off for a dubious handball.
So far Brendan Rodgers has been forced into diplomatic answers over Celtic’s disallowed goal against Hibs on Saturday. Nicholson, as usual has kept in the shadows while supporters demand answers over the decision making process.
Over 3,000 Celtic fans paid £34 a ticket for the match at Easter Road, five days later they are still in the dark over why Maeda’s 83rd minute ‘equaliser’ was disallowed.
Scotland’s newest club get almost instant reactions whenever they squeal to their media messengers, when Phil Clement’s phone was swamped with messages after the League Cup Final in December it resulted in media appearances from Ian Maxwell and Collum within three days.
Last season when an ‘offside penalty’ claim was ignored in a match against Celtic Clement’s messengers were quickly on the case culminating in a demand that Collum wasn’t involved in any further matches involving the Ibrox club.
Other than a home Scottish Cup tie against Ayr United the SFA complied with that request until May 14. After he took charge of the final Glasgow Derby in the SPFL it was announced that the man from Lanarkshire was to become the Head of Refereeing at the SFA after a worldwide recruitment search.
Muir has been left out of two rounds of SFA appointments since the Hibs v Celtic match.
It is fairly straight-forward for the SFA to drop one of a dozen top referees for a few weeks but with Muir one of only three full-time VAR officials his absence will be harder to cover up.
Completing the cycle MacDermid will referee Saturday’s match between St Mirren and Celtic fresh from his VAR shift on Wednesday night.
Since becoming Celtic CEO in September 2021 Nicholson’s only media appearance was when Brendan Rodgers was introduced as manager in June 2023, Nicholson appeared with the new manager and club Chairman Peter Lawwell.
▪️ Erroneous decisions costly
▪️ Performance level pleasing throughout
▪️ Lessons to learn from set-piece defending
▪️ Using frustration as motivation#DUFC Manager Jim Goodwin discusses the key talking points from this evening’s @WilliamHill Premiership clash with Hibernian 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/gnsB7vvXXd— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) February 26, 2025
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