Chris Sutton rubbishes Gary Lineker's 'worst VAR decision ever' claim after Celtic's controversial penalty winner at Motherwell

The drama unfolded in the 97th minute of Celtic's crucial trip to Motherwell when referee John Beaton was summoned to the pitchside monitor by VAR. Following a brief review, Beaton awarded a penalty for a handball against Sam Nicholson, who was judged to have handled the ball with his arm in an unnatural position while jumping for a header.

Kelechi Iheanacho stepped up to convert the spot-kick, securing a vital 3-2 victory for Martin O'Neill's side. The result ensures that Celtic can clinch the Scottish Premiership title with a win over leaders Hearts on the final day, but the nature of the winning goal has sparked a massive debate across the footballing world.

Lineker was among the first to voice his frustration, taking to social media to express his disbelief at the call. "This might be the worst VAR decision I've seen (and there's a lot of competition)," Lineker wrote. "Extraordinary given the significance."

His sentiment was echoed by former Rangers striker Kris Boyd, who argued the physics of the incident proved the ball hit Nicholson’s head rather than his hand.

"If you throw a ball at someone and it hits your hand, it will drop a couple of yards in front of you," Boyd said during his analysis on Sky Sports. "It is impossible - impossible - to get that distance on a header like that if it's hitting your hand first. It's impossible."

The ball eventually travelled out of the penalty area for a throw-in, which Boyd cited as evidence of a clean header.

However, Sutton, who scored 85 goals during a decorated spell at Celtic Park, was quick to leap to the defence of the match officials. Writing on social media after the game, he suggested the criticism was fueled by more than just a disagreement over the rules. "Now the dust has settled... the reaction from many high profile people is way over the top," Sutton posted.

"John Beaton was advised to go to the monitor and saw that the ball hit the arm in an unnatural position. Bottom line is people would hate to see Celtic win the title again and that is all."

Sutton even directly addressed Lineker’s complaints, simply stating: "It's what VAR is there for." He also poked fun at his fellow pundit Boyd, adding: "I'm worried Boydy may explode."

The fallout from the decision has massive implications for the Scottish Premiership title race. Hearts are currently looking to become the first club outside of the Old Firm to win the league since 1985. Their 3-0 win over Falkirk on Wednesday put them in a strong position, but Iheanacho’s late goal means they must now avoid defeat at Celtic Park on Saturday to secure the trophy.

Hearts manager Derek McInnes did not hold back when asked for his thoughts on the incident that kept Celtic's title hopes alive. "It's such a bad decision," McInnes said. "Motherwell must feel totally aggrieved. I had to keep looking at it because I thought I was missing something. When I was watching it I had to ask 'what I am looking for here?' It's actually quite disgusting."