Steven Naismith frustrated by handball calls as Hearts lose at Celtic

Colin Steven reversed a first-half penalty award for Hearts after Lawrence Shankland’s header hit the arm of Liam Scales.

The referee gave a spot-kick for Celtic within the 52nd minute after once more being known as to the monitor to evaluate an enchantment for handball towards James Penrice, who had blocked Nicolas Kuhn’s cross.

Arne Engels tucked residence Celtic’s penalty and fellow deadline-day signing Luke McCowan curled residence the second purpose within the 89th minute to consign Hearts to a seventh consecutive defeat.

Naismith mentioned: “I don’t assume our penalty is a penalty within the tips when it comes to the space between the gamers. However I additionally don’t assume theirs is a penalty.

“It hits his arm, however for me there’s nothing he can do. The movement is the one which we had been proven in pre-season. So I disagree with that and that’s a giant second within the sport.

“I simply really feel that each of them are in the identical ballpark. I don’t assume the space between James and the ball is nice sufficient that he can get his hand out the way in which.

“Every thing that would go flawed or any mistake that’s made by us is getting punished in the intervening time, so simple as that.

“However I feel there’s positives: the self-discipline, the way in which we labored and the way in which defensively we understood when to press, when to not press. And the possibilities that we ended up creating, there have been a few good ones in there.”

Celtic supervisor Brendan Rodgers felt the referee was in the end proper each occasions.

“Once you have a look at it, I feel the foundations are fairly clear,” he mentioned. “I feel each had been grappling, the ball comes down on to his (Scales’) sleeve, shoulder. So, I feel in everybody’s e book, that’s not a penalty.

“After which likewise, the regulation tells you in case you’re out of what can be the silhouette of your physique and your arms are up when it hits you, then that may be a penalty. And that’s the way it labored out.”

Rodgers was delighted with the primary begin of 21-year-old Belgium worldwide Engels, the membership’s document signing from Augsburg.

“He’s going to be a very good participant,” he mentioned. “He’s tall, he’s athletic, he can run, his contact is sweet, he’s aggressive, he presses, he counter-presses. And at 20 years of age, he’s solely going to enhance.

“And clearly, he will get the penalty, so he exhibits his braveness to take it and rating.

“There’s nonetheless work that we’ve to do with him when it comes to his positioning. That’s solely pure, how we play and the place we get the eights to go. However that’s simply rhythm, that’s simply time, that’s simply coaching.”

Rodgers was additionally delighted to see McCowan come off the bench to web in his second look since shifting from Dundee.

“It was nice,” he mentioned. “For any participant enjoying for his or her boyhood group to return on, he’s once more nonetheless adapting so much to the velocity of the sport, the tempo of the sport, however he won’t ever, ever allow you to down whether or not he begins within the sport or comes into the sport.

“For a younger man, Celtic supporter, it’s his absolute dream to be right here. You see it, you sense it. I see it in him each single day. To then really rating at Celtic Park and get that feeling from the supporters…

“The supporters recognise it as nicely. So, good for him and so completely happy for him.”