As Celtic prepare to face Rangers this afternoon, a historic derby in 2010 has been brought to the fore as former SFA man Steve Conroy admits he made a huge refereeing mistake.
The date was 3rd of January 2010 and Celtic were trailing Rangers in the league by seven points. A Hoops win would have closed the gap to four points, making the final half of the season very interesting indeed.However, the result ended 1-1, but the fixture was not without its controversy as the match referee Steve Conroy admits he made one big mistake in the Ibrox clash that he regrets to this day.Steve Conroy admits VAR would have red-carded Lafferty vs Celtic
The Kyle Lafferty studs-up challenge on Celtic’s Andreas Hinkel still weighs heavily on Conroy’s mind as he explains how VAR would have ensured the Rangers striker was red-carded, had it been in deployment back then.Conroy told the Sunday Mail, “There’s no maybe about Lafferty, that should have been a red card.
“Absolutely no doubt whatsoever. I’ve watched it back hundreds of times and I was just caught out of position.
“I was in a position I should never have been in and the only excuse I give myself is that I must have been so nervous. I shouldn’t have been able to get into the position that I was in.“It meant that I saw Lafferty’s straight leg on Andreas Hinkel from behind rather than side on where I should have been.
“Lafferty would have been sent off if there had been VAR. Without a shadow of a doubt.”
Conroy doubles down on Marc-Antoine Fortune disallowed Celtic goal vs Rangers
Celtic also had a goal disallowed after Marc-Antoine Fortune was ruled to have fouled Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor in the Ibrox clash.
But that’s one decision Conroy has no regrets over as the former SFA whistler said, “I’m standing by the Fortune one though.
“Again I’ve watched that hundreds of times and I still think it’s a foul. It’s the same as tripping somebody. If you’re an outfield player you can’t run if somebody trips you up.
“If you’re a goalkeeper you can’t save the ball if somebody bangs your arms.
“So McGregor had no chance of catching that ball and that was down to Fortune.”Celtic fans will be hoping for a win at Ibrox this afternoon to leapfrog Rangers and close the gap to Hearts back to five points.
A defeat would make Martin O’Neill’s title defence extremely difficult whereas a draw would keep Celtic in it, but with a mountain to climb.