The Scottish FA Key Match Incident Panel unanimously backed two key calls from Celtic’s 3-1 win over Rangers on Sunday, May 10, supporting both the booking of Alistair Johnston and the decision to allow Yang’s equaliser to stand.
Johnston was shown a yellow card after 38 minutes for a tackle on Mikey Moore, with the Rangers winger caught on the ankle in the follow-through. There was no VAR intervention over the challenge or the booking, and the panel agreed 3:0 that the on-field decision was right.
The same panel also backed the goal that brought Celtic level, rejecting claims that Yang had been offside in the buildup. That ruling was also unanimous, with the KMI panel saying the equaliser should stand despite the protests around a possible offside.
The review came after Rangers manager Danny Rohl questioned the incidents, though he said he had not seen them again and could not change the decisions now. Rohl said the tackle felt aggressive on the pitch, but added that he did not look for excuses and had not yet reviewed the offside situation in full.
The retrospective ruling matters because it clears both of the match’s most disputed moments in a game Celtic controlled by the final whistle. It also underlines the limits of what can be changed after the fact, even when a manager believes the calls may have altered the flow of the contest.
Rohl said that if the decisions were wrong, or if the tackle should have brought a red card, then someone should take responsibility for that. But the panel’s verdict leaves the original calls in place, with the booking for Alistair Johnston and the award of Yang’s goal both formally endorsed.
