Andy Halliday shares Motherwell dressing room’s reaction to Celtic penalty controversy.

Andy Halliday has opened up on the mood inside the Motherwell dressing room after the hugely controversial late penalty that handed Celtic a dramatic victory at Fir Park in one of the most talked-about matches of the Scottish Premiership season.

The fiery encounter ended in dramatic fashion when Kelechi Iheanacho converted from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time, securing a massive win for Celtic and ensuring the title race would continue into the final day of the campaign.

Liam Gordon of Motherwell celebrates scoring his team’s second goal with teammates during the Scottish Premiership match between Motherwell and Celtic at Fir Park on May 13, 2026. (Photo by Zak Mauger/Getty Images)

However, while the result itself carried enormous significance, the main talking point afterwards centred on the controversial decision that led to the penalty being awarded.

The incident unfolded in added time when the ball appeared to strike Motherwell winger Sam Nicholson inside the penalty area during an aerial challenge involving Celtic defender Auston Trusty.

Referee John Beaton initially allowed play to continue and appeared unconvinced there had been any infringement. But after intervention from VAR, the official was instructed to head to the pitchside monitor for a review of the incident.

Following only a short look at the replay footage, Beaton returned to the field and pointed to the penalty spot, judging Nicholson to have handled the ball during the challenge.

The call immediately sparked outrage among Motherwell players, staff and supporters, many of whom believed the ball had either struck Nicholson’s head or that any handball had been accidental due to the physical contact between the players.

The decision has continued to dominate discussion across Scottish football ever since, with pundits, former players and managers debating both the interpretation of the handball law and the use of VAR in the situation.

Halliday, although not part of Motherwell’s matchday squad for the game, later discussed the controversy during an appearance on an Open Goal vlog.

The experienced midfielder explained that frustration was widespread among the Motherwell players in the dressing room after the final whistle, particularly because many of them remained unconvinced about what the footage actually showed.

Halliday stressed that he personally had not yet reviewed the incident properly himself and therefore did not want to give a definitive personal opinion at that stage. Instead, he focused on relaying what his teammates had been saying immediately after the game.

Speaking about the incident, Halliday said: “We’ve not properly seen it back yet, so I’m not going to give my opinion until I do. I’m only going to tell you what has basically been said.”

He then outlined the concerns being raised by the Motherwell players regarding the physical challenge between Nicholson and Trusty in the moments before the ball struck the winger.

According to Halliday, the feeling inside the dressing room was that Nicholson’s arm had been forced upwards because of the collision with the Celtic defender rather than any deliberate movement towards the ball.

Halliday explained: “So, basically the VAR… I think they’ve seen it as a handball. Obviously, the boys are not happy because they feel like Sam’s went to jump, Trusty’s jumped from underneath him and lifted his hand towards the ball.”

The midfielder also revealed that Nicholson himself believed the ball may not even have struck his hand at all during the incident.

Instead, the former Hearts player reportedly insisted that he felt the ball had actually hit his head rather than his arm.

Halliday added: “But Sam says he doesn’t even think it hits his hand, it hits his head. But as I said, we’ve not seen it back so we can’t give our opinion.”

The comments reflected the confusion and uncertainty that surrounded the incident immediately after the match, particularly given the varying replay angles shown during live television coverage.

Numerous pundits and former referees have since weighed in on the incident, with opinions sharply divided over whether the decision was correct.

Some have argued that Nicholson’s arm was in an unnatural position and therefore justified the penalty award, while others believe the contact was either inconclusive or heavily influenced by the challenge from Trusty.

Despite the anger surrounding the controversial finish, Halliday was also keen to highlight the overall quality and entertainment value of the match itself.

The former Rangers midfielder praised both teams for producing an exciting contest and argued that the game served as an excellent advertisement for Scottish football.

Halliday suggested supporters do not always need to look abroad for entertaining matches, insisting the clash at Fir Park delivered drama, intensity and quality throughout.

He said: “First and foremost, it just shows you you don’t need to go all the way across Europe to watch proper football because that was a brilliant game.”

The midfielder continued by describing the encounter as one of the best games he had watched in recent times, praising the attacking football and momentum swings throughout the evening.

Halliday remarked: “I genuinely thought it was an unbelievable game. I thought it went both ways.”

The Motherwell player also admitted that, in his opinion, the match had been evenly balanced overall and that a draw would probably have been the fairest result based on the flow of the game.

At the same time, he revealed that people within the Motherwell camp had sensed there could still be a decisive late moment before the final whistle.

Halliday explained: “I thought at the end, I thought a draw probably would have been a fair result. We said at the time, I actually felt that there was a winner in it, and I thought it was going to be us just because of a couple of scenarios.”

Instead, it was Celtic who secured the dramatic late breakthrough, with Iheanacho calmly dispatching the stoppage-time penalty to keep his side firmly in the Premiership title race heading into the final round of fixtures.

The dramatic conclusion at Fir Park has since become one of the defining moments of the Scottish football season, with debate over the penalty decision continuing to rage across the country.