The incident
St Johnstone striker Chris Kane and Celtic stopper Cameron Carter-Vickers were embroiled in a fierce flashpoint during the Hoops' 2-0 win at Parkhead.
Carter-Vickers had gone down under a tackle and was awarded a free-kick as he landed on top of the ball with Kane kicking at the ball.
Kane then appeared to kick-out, connecting with the ball under Carter-Vickers as well as the player, before the pair squared-up.
Kane also looked to have caught Carter-Vickers in the face as players gathered pushing and shoving in the aftermath of the foul.
What was the decision?
Referee Nick Walsh awarded Celtic a free-kick.
The whistler then intervened after a melee broke out before booking both Kane and Carter-Vickers.
What was said?
Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou praised referee Walsh for his decision despite being puzzled by the decision to book Carter-Vickers.
He said: “It’s on the other side…I thought the referee handled it okay.
“People run in and they push and shove. I always have a chuckle at these things because some of those on the outskirts, I’m not sure how keen they are to get involved!
“I thought the referee handled it well. I couldn’t see why Cameron got the yellow card but I’m 50 yards away.
“Over my years in management I have learned that you let those things go as much as you can.
“You can go down that rabbit hole and end up pulling your hair out. I try to let the officials handle these things.
“It’s important we don’t get frustrated at these kind of things because they can eat away at you and we need to focus on what is important to us.”
The Rules
The IFAB rules state an free-kick should be awarded if, when playing the ball, a player threatens injury with a tackle.
The rule reads: "Playing in a dangerous manner is any action that, while trying to play the ball, threatens injury to someone (including the player themself) and includes preventing a nearby opponent from playing the ball for fear of injury."
Two possible offences for Kane's actions could be serious foul play or violent conduct.
For it to be ruled serious foul play the referee must be satisfied that "A tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality must be sanctioned as serious foul play."
In the case of violent conduct the ruling states: "Violent conduct is when a player uses or attempts to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball, or against a team-mate, team official, match official, spectator or any other person, regardless of whether contact is made.
"In addition, a player who, when not challenging for the ball, deliberately strikes an opponent or any other person on the head or face with the hand or arm, is guilty of violent conduct unless the force used was negligible."
The Verdict
Referee Walsh booked Kane, which would suggest he did not view the flashpoint as serious foul play or violent conduct.
Therefore, Walsh may have decided that Kane did not endanger his opponent or use excessive force or brutality.
Similarly, the referee ruled that there was no violent conduct in the melee, and while Kane appeared to catch Carter-Vickers with his hand it may have been ruled as the force being "negligible".
In the case of Carter-Vickers and Kane both being booked it could be that the referee viewed the fall-out and reacteion of both players as "acting in a provocative, derisory or inflammatory way".
Pundit reaction
🗣️ 'I think he's very lucky here...'
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) October 24, 2021
Should St Johnstone's Chris Kane have been shown a red card in this incident against Celtic?
Watch the Sportscene analysis ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/QfWRuj0c5X
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