Brendan Rodgers has his say on Cup Final penalty controversy | OneFootball

Brendan Rodgers looked back on his side’s Premier Sports Cup win against theRangers on Sunday and commented for the first time on the controversy that has raged all week about a penalty decision that went against Philippe Clement’s side…

Brendan Rodgers with the Premier Sports Cup after Celtic’s victory over theRangers on 15 December 2024 at Hampden Park. Photo Kenny Ramsay

Brendan has looked at the footage and has given exactly the explanation as we have already done on The Celtic Star – that John Beaton had blown his whistle early and awarded the free-kick for the initial foul which clearly happened outside box.

And the Celtic manager, who was speaking to Sky Sports ahead of Sunday’s trip to Tannadice to play Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership, reckons that there’s always controversy after Celtic v (the)Rangers matches and he’s now been involved in twenty of these Glasgow Derby matches.

On winning the cup, Rodgers spoke of his delight for his players and the Celtic supporters, noting that Celtic now have possession of all three trophies and the plan is now to defend them all.

Brendan Rodgers celebrates with his players after lifting The Premier Sports Cup after the victory over theRangers at Hampden on 15 December 2024. Photo AJ for The Celtic Star

“I said before the game that it would be something tangible to show for the great start that the players have made and it’s great because we now have all three trophies to win and defend and that’s what we like.

“The players have been absolutely brilliant, the mental strength got them through so I was so pleased for them and for the supporters.

Brendan agreed that his players being course and distance winners so often at Hampden on the big occasions helped get the team over the line in what was a tight margins encounter that went all the way to a penalty shoot-out.

Celtic celebrations after winning the Premier Sports Cup Final between Celtic and theRangers at Hampden on Sunday 15 December 2024. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

“It also shows you that winning is hard. People think that winning is easy and you can just turn up no matter how you are playing. These games are always fine margins and they always have been, but the players were able to dig deep, they came back from going behind, they go into the extra-time then obviously when the pressure moments came, we scored the penalties really well. So it was a great victory and I’m so happy for everyone,” Brendan said.

Rodgers also gave his thoughts on the penalty controversy that neither match referee John Beaton, his assistant linesman, or the team on VAR concluded was a penalty and indeed no player from theRangers appealed for. If you ignore when Beaton blew the whistle for the free-kick, as Willie Collum has appeared to do, then you can follow the incident to post-whistle and the Rangers player putting a foot on the line.

At the end of the day no penalty was awarded and these things can happen, with theRangers usually on the right side of any controversy. When they’re not, boy do they squeal.

Brendan has very little sympathy for their angst.

“I’ve been involved in twenty games between Celtic and (the)Rangers and I always feel that there’s a narrative of some sort after the game,” he explained. “In each game, whether that’s ‘there should have been a penalty’, ‘should have been a red card’, ‘should have been a goal’; even penalties that should be awarded even when it’s offside…so there is always something in the narrative.

Referee John Beaton during the Premier Sports Cup Final between Celtic and theRangers at Hampden on Sunday 15 December 2024. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

“I can understand why you would look at it, when I see it and evaluate it, I think that the images I’ve seen it was probably given for the initial foul which was clearly NOT on the line, but of course it moves on and goes onto the penalty aspect,” Brendan Rodgers explained.

The penalty claim explained. Beaton had blown the whistle for the foul outside the box. Image from social media.

“The bottom line is however, whatever happens in the game you have to get on with it. For us we can only control what we can and that was to go on and win the game. So there is always something after a Celtic (the)Rangers game,” the Celtic manager said.

Of all the teams in the SPFL from the Premiership down to the lower leagues, only one set of supporters have a scarf and a social media graphic specifically designed to acknowledge their often awarded spot kicks. Their ‘Penalty to Rangers’ tells its own story and they have had so many that were soft to say the least. Yet when they are denied one that they didn’t even claim for all hell breaks loose.

Penalty to Rangers scarf.

Collum yesterday admitted that theRangers should have had a penalty last weekend. He’s previously on earlier VAR Reviews this season admitted that Celtic have been denied two penalties this season, against Kilmarnock and Motherwell. These things happen to all clubs and not just theRangers. In fact it probably happens to them less than any of the others.

Dry your eyes.

Here’s Brendan speaking to Sky Sports earlier today…

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