Matt O’Riley hears ref’s Celtic confession as Don Robertson reveals all over Hampden foul

Matt O'Riley has revealed referee Don Robertson told him he probably should have had a foul in the build-up to Celtic’s Hampden winner.

But the Parkhead ace was happy to let it slide after seeing Jota subsequently send his team into the Scottish Cup Final. O’Riley had a massive input in the Portuguese’s headed strike that brought a semi-final win over Rangers at the National Stadium. The midfielder was heading towards the penalty box when he was halted by a challenge from covering Ibrox ace Nicolas Raskin.

Robertson didn’t blow his whistle for a free-kick at the incident. But, as the Belgian and some of his Rangers team-mates stopped and froze, the alert Daizen Maeda pounced to collect possession again for Celtic and deliver a cross to the far post which colleague Jota buried to seal the semi. O’Riley said: “It was definitely a foul, but sometimes you have just got to be grateful! To be fair, I was screaming for it.

“The ref told me it probably was a foul when I walked past him, but he said: If I’d given the foul then you guys wouldn’t have scored. I was like: Yeah, fair enough!

“It was a really good goal, too. We wouldn’t usually cross from that kind of area. We would usually try to work it a bit closer.

“But Daizen saw the opportunity and it was a great ball for the goal.”

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