Scottish FA respond to Hearts over disallowed goal at Kilmarnock

The Scottish Football Association have responded to Hearts’ request for clarification over their disallowed goal against Kilmarnock. Hampden Park officials made contact with the Tynecastle club to discuss the controversial incident following last week’s 1-1 Premiership draw between the two clubs at Rugby Park.

Hearts asked the SFA why their first-half strike did not stand and were unhappy that it had a major bearing on the outcome of the game. With the scoreline goalless, Hearts midfielder Laurent Mendy challenged for Stephen Kingsley’s cross before shooting at goal. The ball appeared to be going wide of target until Kilmarnock defender Cathal McCarthy inadvertently headed it into his own net. The ball struck Mendy’s arm after he jumped, which video replays confirmed, but McCarthy would have been the scorer of an own goal.

Referee Duncan Nicholson signalled that the strike was disallowed for a handling offence following intervention by VAR official Matthew MacDermid. Football laws state that a goalscorer can have a goal disallowed if they used an arm before shooting or in the immediate build-up. However, Hearts believe the goal should have stood because Mendy would not have been the scorer.

Head coach Wouter Vrancken confirmed to the Edinburgh News today that the SFA responded to the club’s request for an explanation. They governing body stood by the decision taken by their match officials, however. “Graeme Jones [Hearts sporting director] had a call with them and they gave their side. They defended the decision, actually,” said Vrancken. “I’m not going to make a war over this decision. The worst thing in football is when it is not consistent. Consistency is what we are all talking about.

“It was different in England. I saw the Manchester United game when they took another decision. We will see when the next situation happens and what they decide then. When you have rules, it’s all about consistency - doing the same things, the same decisions for every team in every game. It has to be like this. It’s a pity because, for me, it was a really clear rule and a clear decision. We will see what the future brings. We cannot come back on this decision. We cannot win the game now. It’s gone. The moment is gone and we focus now on what is coming.”

Vrancken was referencing Manchester United’s 5-2 win over Ipswich Town in the English Premier League last month. Harry Maguire’s effort appeared to strike his arm before his shot hit defender Jacob Greaves en route to goal. Match official Craig Pawson and VAR official Jarred Gillett determined the handball to be accidental, so the goal stood because Maguire did not score directly from his shot.

International Football Association Board laws confirm that a goal can be ruled out for handling - accidental or not - if the scorer is deemed to have handled the ball himself. IFAB Law 12 states: “A handball offence is committed when a player (except the goalkeeper in their own penalty area) deliberately touches the ball with their hand/arm, touches the ball with their hand/arm when it is in a position that makes their body unnaturally bigger and that position is not the result of their body moving fairly as part of play, scores a goal against the other team with their hand/arm or scores immediately after the ball has touched their hand/arm (even if the touch was accidental).

“A handball offence is not committed when a player heads, kicks or plays the ball with another part of their body and it then hits their own hand/arm (unless the ball goes directly into the opponents’ goal or the player scores immediately afterwards), falls and the ball hits their supporting arm, which is between their body and the ground (unless the ball goes directly into the opponents’ goal or the player scores immediately afterwards, in which case a direct free kick is awarded to the other team), is hit on the hand/arm by the ball which has been played by a team-mate (unless the ball goes directly into the opponents’ goal or the player scores immediately afterwards, in which case a direct free kick is awarded to the other team).”

The incident at Rugby Park is the latest in a list of controversial refereeing decisions to impact Hearts this year. The end of last season left the Edinburgh club angry when Celtic benefitted from two penalty calls at Fir Park. The first one denied Hearts a penalty when Alexandros Kyziridis was fouled against Motherwell, while the second a few days later saw Celtic awarded a controversial injury-time spot-kick to secure a vital win over the home side. Both decisions contributed to Celtic winning the title.

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