Why trip on Lawrence Shankland during Hearts win over Ross County was initially missed by referee

Former referee Stuart Dougal believes Don Robertson may have thought Lawrence Shankland tripped himself up during the incident which eventually led to a Hearts penalty during Saturday's win over Ross County.
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The striker netted the second of his hat-trick of goals from the penalty spot after VAR intervened to help correct match official Robertson’s initial decision following a tackle by Dylan Smith.

Shankland was clearly brought down by the young centre-back but Robertson waved away the appeals. He was then told to consult the pitch-side monitor before pointing to the spot.

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Dougal reckons that Robertson would have been caught in two minds and therefore couldn’t commit to giving a penalty at the time. The former top-flight official also believes it’s a good example of the positive use of VAR in the Scottish game.

Lawrence Shankland coverts from the penalty spot after VAR intervened to help correct referee Don Robertson's initial decision. Picture: SNSLawrence Shankland coverts from the penalty spot after VAR intervened to help correct referee Don Robertson's initial decision. Picture: SNS
Lawrence Shankland coverts from the penalty spot after VAR intervened to help correct referee Don Robertson's initial decision. Picture: SNS

“The referee is in a good position. What he’s probably unsure about is whether Lawrence Shankland has tripped or has he been tripped? As we hear many people saying, the referee has got to be 100 per cent before he gives a penalty. He was probably not 100 per cent sure,” he told Al Lamont on the BBC’s The VARdict show.

"He’s got the safety net. If this is 0-0 then this is a crucial decision. Ok, as it’s 3-0 going 4-0 there’s not as big a hoo-ha about it, but it’s another example of VAR helping match officials and helping the game get the right decisions and results.

“He’ll be disappointed. If I was refereeing a game, without VAR, and I’d got up the road after and saw that, I’d be thinking ‘ah, I should’ve caught that’.”

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