Kettlewell didn’t see the point in calling the SFA refs chief to get the same reasoning he’s already had in the aftermath of SundayStuart Kettlewell

Kilmarnock boss Stuart Kettlewell has accepted the SFA’s explanation as to why Celtic were awarded a last gasp penalty agianst them on Sunday, but insists it’s now set a precedent for future incidents.

James Forrest’s shot was deflected off Robbie Deas’ foot on to Lewis Mayo’s arm. Ref John Beaton was called to the pitch side monitor by the VAR and pointed to the spot.

Celts new boy Kelechi Iheanacho stepped up and scored to snatch all three points and keep the champions at the top of the table alongside Hearts.

The SFA moved to clarify the call after the game, releasing an explanation that read: “The penalty was awarded for handball by the Kilmarnock defender whose arm is in an unnatural position.

“A deflection doesn’t always negate a handball offence. He doesn’t know where ball is going and his arm is up in an unnatural position to block a shot.”

And it seems that Kettlewell has accepted that, provided spot kicks are given in similar scenarios going forward.

“There has to be a consistency in decision making within the games,” he said. “I know everything’s not identical, I know everything is not exactly as that one was.

Lewis Mayo of Kilmarnock handles the ball(Image: Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock)

“But when you go and try to block the ball with your foot and not your upper body – we’ve all seen the ones when you try with your body and your hand is in an unnatural position – if that ricochets up off somebody’s foot from half a yard, then I would expect them to be given from a yard or further.

“I thought that was an extreme case. Really, really unfortunate that it comes off the hand. Not going in the goal, I think we can all see that the ball is not heading towards the goal.

“I’m somebody that likes clarity, I’m somebody that likes consistency, same as everybody else. I have a lot of conversations with a lot of different people within Scottish football – press, media, coaching staff, players, punters – people with that vested interest in Scottish football, and I don’t think we want to see that.

“But I think we have set a precedent on Sunday on what will be given as a penalty.”

When asked why he didn’t seek clarity from refs boss Willie Collum, Kettlewell replied: “You’re asking why I didn’t seek clarity. Becasue there’s a chain of decisions and thought processes and statements that have told us that can be given as a penalty.

“So what clarity would I want? From checking VAR, from the look at the screen and from the statement afterwards, that’s given me my answer who why would I go back over that again?”