Steven Naismith frustrated by handball calls as Hearts lose at Celtic

Hearts head coach Steven Naismith felt there were inconsistencies in interpretation after his side twice came out on the wrong side of two VAR handball calls in a 2-0 defeat at Celtic.

Colin Steven reversed a first-half penalty award for Hearts after Lawrence Shankland’s header hit the arm of Liam Scales.

The referee gave a spot-kick for Celtic in the 52nd minute after again being called to the monitor to review an appeal for handball against James Penrice, who had blocked Nicolas Kuhn’s cross.

Arne Engels tucked home Celtic’s penalty and fellow deadline-day signing Luke McCowan curled home the second goal in the 89th minute to consign Hearts to a seventh consecutive defeat.

Naismith said: “I don’t think our penalty is a penalty in the guidelines in terms of the distance between the players. But I also don’t think theirs is a penalty.

“It hits his arm, but for me there’s nothing he can do. The motion is the one that we were shown in pre-season. So I disagree with that and that’s a big moment in the game.

“I just feel that both of them are in the same ballpark. I don’t think the distance between James and the ball is great enough that he can get his hand out the way.

“Everything that could go wrong or any mistake that’s made by us is getting punished at the moment, as simple as that.

“But I think there’s positives: the discipline, the way we worked and the way defensively we understood when to press, when not to press. And the chances that we ended up creating, there were a couple of good ones in there.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers felt the referee was ultimately right both times.

“When you look at it, I think the rules are pretty clear,” he said. “I think both were grappling, the ball comes down on to his (Scales’) sleeve, shoulder. So, I think in everyone’s book, that’s not a penalty.

“And then likewise, the law tells you if you’re out of what would be the silhouette of your body and your arms are up when it hits you, then that is a penalty. And that’s how it worked out.”

Rodgers was delighted with the first start of 21-year-old Belgium international Engels, the club’s record signing from Augsburg.

“He’s going to be a really good player,” he said. “He’s tall, he’s athletic, he can run, his touch is good, he’s aggressive, he presses, he counter-presses. And at 20 years of age, he’s only going to improve.

“And obviously, he gets the penalty, so he shows his courage to take it and score.

“There’s still work that we have to do with him in terms of his positioning. That’s only natural, how we play and where we get the eights to go. But that’s just rhythm, that’s just time, that’s just training.”

Rodgers was also delighted to see McCowan come off the bench to net in his second appearance since moving from Dundee.

“It was great,” he said. “For any player playing for their boyhood team to come on, he’s again still adapting a lot to the speed of the game, the tempo of the game, but he will never, ever let you down whether he starts in the game or comes into the game.

“For a young guy, Celtic supporter, it’s his absolute dream to be here. You see it, you sense it. I see it in him every single day. To then actually score at Celtic Park and get that feeling from the supporters…

“The supporters recognise it as well. So, brilliant for him and so happy for him.”