{"id":957982,"date":"2026-05-13T22:39:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T22:39:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/957982\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T22:39:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T22:39:14","slug":"hearts-v-falkirk-live-derek-mcinnes-labels-controversial-penalty-decision-disgusting-after-celtic-snatch-late-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/957982\/","title":{"rendered":"Hearts v Falkirk LIVE: Derek McInnes labels controversial penalty decision \u2018disgusting\u2019 after Celtic snatch late win"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Celtic now favourites for title<\/p>\n

With Celtic only being one point behind Hearts in the Scottish Premiership table it\u2019s all or nothing in the final match of the season this Saturday. <\/p>\n

The two title rivals face off against each other at Celtic Park and it is the Hoops who are the favourites to win the game and the league with bookers. <\/p>\n

Celtic are 4\/6 favourites to pip Hearts to the post and it\u2019ll be a fascinating encounter. <\/p>\n

Hearts only need to avoid defeat while Celtic need to win but with a home crowd backing them, Celtic probably do have a slight advantage. <\/p>\n

Mike Jones13 May 2026 23:34<\/p>\n

<\/a>\u2018Worst VAR decision ever\u2019: Hearts rage at \u2018disgusting\u2019 Celtic penalty call which keeps title race alive<\/p>\n

Hearts<\/a> boss Derek McInnes slammed a \u201cdisgusting\u201d late penalty awarded to Celtic<\/a> on Wednesday night \u2013 which stretched a dramatic Scottish Premiership<\/a> title race to the final day.<\/p>\n

Hearts, eyeing their first title in 66 years, had one hand on the trophy after their 3-0 win over Falkirk<\/a>, with Celtic drawing 2-2 away at Motherwell. If it ended that way, Celtic would have needed to win by six goals or more in their final day showdown on Saturday to win the title.<\/p>\n

Kieran Jackson13 May 2026 23:25<\/p>\n

<\/a>It could go either way says O’Neill<\/p>\n

Martin O\u2019Neill says that Celtic have done a fine job of taking the title race to the very last day of the season and admitted he has been impressed by the fight shown by his players. <\/p>\n

He told BBC Scotland: “That’s what we wanted to do at the beginning of the week to try and take it into the final game of the season and the players have certainly done that. It was a magnificent effort today.<\/p>\n

“We may not win it, but what we have done is that we have fought really impressively, I think, throughout these last number of weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we lost at Tannadice, I keep going back to that, it was unimaginable for us to get back into the race in many aspects, thinking that you couldn’t even drop a point, and for us to win the league, we couldn’t drop a point from then on in.<\/p>\n

“I think the players have shown enormous character to keep fighting right to the very, very end, and they’ve done that again.<\/p>\n

“It could go either way, could go any way, but at least we’ve taken it to the final game.”<\/p>\n

Mike Jones13 May 2026 23:24<\/p>\n

<\/a>In an increasingly controversial title race, Hearts now know what they\u2019re up against<\/p>\n

The full-time whistle blew at Tynecastle but the celebrations were muted, and eyes remained elsewhere. On a delirious, dizzying evening where Hearts<\/a> felt their grip on a first title since 1960 tighten, this became the night where the league was pulled further from their reach.<\/p>\n

In some places in the Gorgie Road End, the same message that has accompanied this extraordinary season remained: \u201cOne more to go, believe!\u201d But their defiance no longer felt as emphatic. On the pitch, players gathered around phones. In the stands, supporters huddled together and waited for the news. Together, they watched as Celtic<\/a> scored a late, controversial penalty to beat Motherwell and take the title race down to a final-day showdown at Parkhead.<\/p>\n

Jamie Braidwood13 May 2026 23:21<\/p>\n

<\/a>O’Neill praises Iheanacho<\/p>\n

More from the Celtic boss who was quick to praise the mentality of Kelechi Iheanacho as he scored the spot kick. <\/p>\n

“Iheanacho has been terrific for us with the little cameo roles that he’s done,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

“He’s had a really frustrating time this season with hamstring problems, but he has come up big for us in these weeks, absolutely big, and he was the one taking the penalty.<\/p>\n

“I was delighted that he was the one who was taking it.<\/p>\n

Mike Jones13 May 2026 23:14<\/p>\n

<\/a>Martin O’Neill on penalty decision<\/p>\n

The Celtic manager, Martin O\u2019Neill, has backed the VAR decision to award his team a late penalty seemingly going against the views of every other football professional talking about the controversy. <\/p>\n

O\u2019Neill toll BBC Scotland: “Well, I have seen it back very, very briefly, it’s a handball, it looks as if it’s also an elbow to the side of the head as well.<\/p>\n

“VAR have asked the referee to come over and have a look at it, and he’s [had] no hesitation in giving the penalty.”<\/p>\n

Mike Jones13 May 2026 23:09<\/p>\n

<\/a>Jens Berthel Askou on ‘unreal moment’ penalty was given<\/p>\n

Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou has as enraged over the penalty decision as Derek McInnes. <\/p>\n

He said: “I thought it was very unreal moment. I can’t see any way in any world where that could be a penalty.<\/p>\n

“I can’t see a connection with the arm, but if there is it’s because he connects with [Auston] Trusty and he pushes his arm up.<\/p>\n

“It’s a shame that a good game, with good tempo and intensity gets decided in a situation like that.”<\/p>\n

Mike Jones13 May 2026 23:05<\/p>\n

<\/a>Lineker has his say on penalty controversy<\/p>\n

Gary Lineker has even chipped in with his thoughts on the penalty decision being awarded in Celtic\u2019s favour. <\/p>\n

Over on X he wrote: \u201cThis might be the worst VAR decision I\u2019ve seen (and there\u2019s a lot of competition). <\/p>\n

\u201cExtraordinary given the significance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike Jones13 May 2026 23:00<\/p>\n

<\/a>Celtic deserve to take title fight to final day<\/p>\n

Celtic captain Callum McGregor spoke to Sky Sports after his team\u2019s late victory. <\/p>\n

He said: “That\u2019s huge, a special character had to take the penalty in that pressure.<\/p>\n

“The team were, again, working so hard, and you just think it’s going to go away from you, and you just get your mind ready, don\u2019t lose the game and let\u2019s go have the shootout at the weekend and see what happens.<\/p>\n

“But with this team, how many goals have we scored in the last minute?<\/p>\n

“Sometimes you need things to drop for you if you\u2019re going to win titles, especially with how far we\u2019ve come from since late December to still be in it, now with it all in your own hands.<\/p>\n

“We deserve to take it to the last day.”<\/p>\n

Mike Jones13 May 2026 22:56<\/p>\n

<\/a>Reaction from Iheanacho<\/p>\n

Regardless of how dubious the penalty decision was it still needed to be scored and up stepped Kelechi Iheanacho. <\/p>\n

He told Sky Sports: “To be fair, I don’t have words, I don’t know how, but we’ve done it.<\/p>\n

“As you can see, the fans are still shouting, and we’re happy, and we have one more to go.<\/p>\n

“We need to get back now and focus on that. I just kept cool, and it’s scary, but thankfully we got the victory, so we’re happy.”<\/p>\n

\"\"(Getty)<\/p>\n

Mike Jones13 May 2026 22:51<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Celtic now favourites for title With Celtic only being one point behind Hearts in the Scottish Premiership table…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":957983,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[748,265325,251751,47671,393,4884,44888,136282,47681,267530,12,1144,267531,2249,87919,252301,712,132245,10031,252297,93,252847,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-957982","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-celtic-f-c","10":"tag-club-soccer","11":"tag-color-image","12":"tag-england","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-horizontal","15":"tag-kelechi-iheanacho","16":"tag-match-sport","17":"tag-motherwell-f-c","18":"tag-news","19":"tag-northern-ireland","20":"tag-penalty-spot","21":"tag-photography","22":"tag-scoring","23":"tag-scoring-a-goal","24":"tag-scotland","25":"tag-scottish-premier-league","26":"tag-soccer","27":"tag-soccer-player","28":"tag-sport","29":"tag-sports-team","30":"tag-uk","31":"tag-united-kingdom","32":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116569674153956764","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/957982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=957982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/957982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/957983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=957982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=957982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=957982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}