Former referees provide clear verdict on Hearts penalty shout vs Rangers and what Nick Walsh + VAR got wrong

Hearts appeals for a penalty vs Rangers were waved away | SNS Group

Hearts have been told they were unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty vs Rangers.

The Tynecastle side turned in a strong performance on the opening day of the Premiership season and had chances to win the match that ended in a 0-0 draw. A talking point flared from a Yan Dhanda cross that hit debuting Ibrox midfielder Connor Barron on the arm, with Nick Walsh not giving a penalty or going to VAR for a review.

New head of referees Willie Collum had stated that there would be fewer VAR interventions for handballs in the new season and that was the case in Gorgie. Behind The Whistles podcast duo, former SFA Category 1 referees Steve Conroy and Des Roache, disagree with the call and reckon Walsh should have been sent to the monitor, with Rangers then fortunate not to have had a penalty against them.

A tweet from the Behind The Whistles podcast account states: “With regards to the Barron handball. We unanimously agreed that under the current Law it should have been called for review and a penalty. His reasons for bringing his arm up appears to be to protect his face.

“We don’t feel it was in any way deliberate. However, as we all know intentional/unintentional deliberate/non-deliberate is not written into the Law for bringing your arm up to protect your face. If therefore cannot be considered a natural movement and position.

“The next consideration ‘Was the arm in close to the body?. He actually brings it out from the body at the point it makes contact. Conclusion is then he made himself bigger by from an unnatural movement and a penalty under the current Law.

“While we were all told referees had been retrained on how to apply the Law this season, that’s one we would still expect to see being reviewed at the very least. Only powerful shots from (short) distance when the ball is struck at you are not considered handball when the movement is to protect the face. That’s not a consideration here.”