Nicky Devlin Celtic handball claim provokes Tosh McKinlay fury with VAR in the firing line after ‘great save’

Celtic hero Tosh McKinlay has taken a dig at VAR after he claimed Livingston star Nicky Devlin made a “great save” to deny the Parkhead men a goal.

A debate was sparked among the pundits after Reo Hatate’s shot connected with Nicky Devlin as Celtic pushed to score their second of the night against David Martindale’s side. The drive from the midfielder was unleashed just outside of the box, sparking a frantic run from the Livingston captan to close down the midfielder. The ball appeared to connect with his arm as he attempted to stop the shot reaching Ivan Konovalov’s net.

Referee Euan Anderson waited to consult his video assistant referee but after a scan from the VAR team the potential penalty was waved away and play moved on. This sparking an angry response from the pundits who were on Celtic TV duty, Simon Donnelly and McKinlay, as the dissected the Scottish Premiership action.

Celtic hero Donnelly said: “Our studio is behind this, and I thought he leaned into this. When you see the replay it’s hit his arm. I think I will need to get back to school and work on the handball rule. “

McKinlay chimed in: “If Bernabei and O’Riley are penalties (from earlier in the season) then that is a penalty all day long. He doesn’t even have a look at it. It’s a great save.”

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