SG67

@HVNYrefugee Left Kentucky. You'd never see a photo covering an expanse so large with no sign of habitation in England.

One of these is Kentucky. One is England. Which is which?

@ProfessorPape Surely almost all of those are going to and from China? They going to blockade themselves?

How could conflict over Taiwan unfold? Half of world’s cargo ships pass thru Taiwan strait As Iran controls Hormuz, China may see more possibilities

@MatthewStadlen I really don't get it. Outside of Manchester and Westminster he could walk down any street in the country unrecognised. The public will be furious at the guy they voted for being replaced by someone they've never heard of.

Has there ever been a more blindingly obvious example of the grass is greener syndrome than the sudden hysteria surrounding Andy Burnham? He lost to Ed Miliband in 2010. He was thrashed by Jeremy Corbyn in 2015. Now he’s capped bus fares in Manchester and he’s seen as the all-conquering, returning hero and the saviour of Labour and the country?

@Nitromanuk @JamesMelville So what is the threshold weight at which an object stops bouncing back and starts just dropping to the floor?

@SG6712 @JamesMelville Are you deliberately stupid? A volleyball is half the weight.

If Celtic were on the receiving end of exactly the same circumstances and VAR penalty decision, the entire club and fan base would understandably be furious about it. It was a scandalously bad decision. End of story.

@DaveMForrester @jhnmcgnly How does volleyball work then?

@jhnmcgnly Nice analysis, and I actually read it all 😆. For me, physics is the real issue. There's no way that ball responds the way it does off anything other than his head. Hitting his hand takes the momentum out and the ball drops a foot in front 🤷‍♂️.

🤓 Reflections on last night's Celtic penalty. I'm not trying to convince anyone, really, more laying out an alternative viewpoint amongst what I consider to be pretty absurd hysteria. There are also some mistruths about the VAR process being portrayed as neutral objectivity that I think deserve to be challenged. Does the ball hit his arm? For me, the footage shows this. Is his arm in an unnatural position and making his body bigger? It's above shoulder height and in front of his head. The ball strikes his arm before his head. Personally, I don't feel his arm being there is justified by his body movement. Intent is irrelevant. Is it a clear and obvious error? There's a popular misconception there has to have been a 'clear and obvious error' for VAR to recommend a VAR review. Per the IFAB guidance, this is not true. A referee can also be called to the monitor if they communicate to the VAR that they haven't seen or made a decision on an incident VAR has flagged as a potential penalty. This is called a 'serious missed incident'. I think, until the audio is released, it's reasonable to assume John Beaton did not rule on whether it was a handball or not before the review, so 'clear and obvious error' would not apply. He didn't have to make a decision on allowing play to continue because the ball almost immediately went out of play and he was told to delay. It's fair to surmise that Dallas' only role was flagging to Beaton there was a potential handball, not suggesting he had made a grave error. IFAB guidance also makes clear that for subjective decisions, including handball considerations, a pitchside review is appropriate. Beaton approached the monitor and made a decision on the evidence available to him. Taking all of this into consideration, even if you feel it wasn't a penalty, I am struggling to comprehend the outrage as if this were either the most corrupt decision in the history of Scottish football or the 'worst VAR decision' in history. I feel there's been a lack of balance or relevant knowledge on broadcasts. I think mainstream pundits suggesting there is a pattern of assistance for Celtic in this title race is hysterical nonsense that is ordinarily mocked by most in less tense times. For the record, and I know this goes against many Celtic fans, I don't believe any club feels the benefit of biased refereeing. I think referees in this country are generally poor and lack consistency and I think the version of VAR that we have in Scottish football is fundamentally flawed because of cheap infrastructure. Going back to the penalty itself, the biggest point of contention would be on the concept of his body being 'unnaturally bigger'. In this case I feel the decision could really go either way depending on the viewpoint of the referee. I don't think it's massively egregious to say it is a penalty. It can be 'harsh', 'unlucky' and 'soft' and still be a reasonable conclusion for the referee to award a penalty. Or at least be reasonable enough not to suggest it is a 'worldwide' embarrassment and/or cheating. I'm not entirely ignorant of my own bias. I fully understand it's easier to go 'well, what's the big deal here?' when the decision goes in favour of the team you support and professionally cover. It's going to generate noise, I get that. Yet, there's something uneasy about the fervour with which this is being labelled as objectively a 'disgusting' crime against Hearts and their title bid. Celtic have earned 19 points with goals scored after the 80th minute this season. They're finding a way. It might be enough. Rage on!

@econoadabsurdam So did smoking increase in the rest of the world? Or did the big tobacco propaganda campaign finally collapse under the weight of evidence

Y'all laughed at Arthur Laffer, but the Australian Treasury proved him right with cigarettes

@Nitromanuk @JamesMelville There's a sport called volleyball where all they do is bat the ball back and forward with a hand

@JamesMelville A ball doesn't travel that far hitting a hand

@gideonrachman It's fairly simple. It didn't look like a penalty in real time because happened so fast and the ball bounced like it had been headered. But in slow motion it clearly is a handball. Most of those people commented before seeing the slow mo. It clearly hits his hand.

It'll stink even worse if Hearts can't get over the line on Saturday.

@Steelmen63 @JamesMelville You cropped out the text immediately before that which says that for the purposes of handball anything above armpit level is considered a handball

If the laws of the game are properly applied then it’s not a handball. A lot of referees are saying the same thing on various media platforms today. End of story.

@SPost_DaveLord @Daniel_4jackson It's newtons third law of motion

@Daniel_4jackson I more mean a still image fails to show how the ball comes firing away at pace after contact…..

Anybody posting a single screenshot of that incident at Motherwell v Celtic is missing the point. Watch it in real time…..

@JMC92_ Rangers legend Alex Rae

Just out of curiosity, is there a single person out there that thinks that’s a penalty that ISN’T a Celtic fan?

@WATPLongbottom @pieandbov He came out straight after the incident saying very strongly it was never a penalty, which looking at the real time video does look a bit like it. He then watched the slow mo and changed his mind based on the evidence. This is the opposite of bias.

@pieandbov You’re showing your true colours here. Always knew you were secretly a Celtic fan. No point pretending you’re a st Mirren fan anymore and just admit that you’re fine with corruption. 👍

The morning after the night before. Firstly, it’s 2026, let’s stop using still images to try and confirm anything that happens on a football pitch. Video brings context. Secondly, and related to point one, for fucks sake use some common sense. An image showing two balls and an English Premier League badge on the Motherwell shirt is actually being circulated by some people as “proof” of what happened 😂 Thirdly, unless you are genuinely blind, I think we can all agree on one point now. The ball absolutely DOES hit his hand, the evidence of that in slow motion and zoomed in, is absolutely clear. Fourth, the distance on the ball is because Nicholson does indeed head it, but he heads it with his hand between his head and the ball. Again that is absolutely clear when you watch it zoomed in and in slow mo, IMO. So, and this is only my opinion of course, the only debate to be had is about whether the hand is in an unnatural position or if his hand has ended up there because of contact from Trusty. For me, whilst his arm isn’t making his silhouette bigger, you can’t really say it being on his forehead is a natural position 🤷‍♂️ Whether a nudge by Trusty pushed his arm up there is I suppose up for some debate but that’s pretty subjective, again IMO, and could be argued either way. So, despite the initial furore, by me included, I genuinely can see why this has been given. In terms of “the worst VAR decision of all time”it’s not even close to being as bad as either of the penalties Hearts didn’t get just three days ago at the same ground. Most neutrals, me included, want Hearts to win the league, and that incident last night was massively disappointing, but I think we all need to calm down a bit. What it has shown though, is that we desperately need more and better camera angles if we are stuck with VAR, and we also need much clearer and consistent decisions on handball cos we are making an absolute arse of dealing with it up here. Some refs give what others don’t, and it’s incredibly frustrating (again see Fir Park on Sat night). That’s my 2p worth anyway, all I know for sure is it’s a very good time to be a football forum owner 🤪

@DPJHodges 1) The ball hit his hand Stevie wonder can see that. 2) There are videos of people heading the ball with hand against the forehead. The physics works. 3) His hand was above his armpit which makes it an unnatural position. It doesn't matter if another player nudged him.

Away from the Westminster drama for a second, there’s a proper scandal developing in Scottish football. Some staggering VAR decisions being awarded to Celtic as the try to stop Herts breaking the Old Firm monopoly. Actually quite shocking to see

@bryce9a @TheRefsView Are you just ignoring the part above saying the upper boundary is in line with his armpit?

@TheRefsView Letter of the law: Is his arm position "a consequence of the player's body movement for that specific situation", where his opponent jumps into him making it impossible to lower his arm? Yes. Clearly. No penalty.

For us as a team, no obvious handball. It is not a clear and obvious error for us therefore shouldn’t have been an on-field review.

@stuartdorward @plogan67 @Hoidy @GaryLineker I think it hit the heel of his hand which is as hard as the head, if you watch the slow mo it appears to connect there. Some combat instructors teach punching with the heel of the hand instead of the knuckles because it's so hard.

@plogan67 @SG6712 @Hoidy @GaryLineker Cracking reply 🤣 I’m way too worried about spurs staying up tbh but still think it’s impossible that it hit his hand, on top of his head, for it to travel that far and that quickly. Did think it was a pen in the first half btw.

This might be the worst VAR decision I’ve seen (and there’s a lot of competition). Extraordinary given the significance.

@Room3328 @ScotlandSky No need to post AI that's not helping anyone

@ScotlandSky Hit his palm

🟢 Here's the incident that resulted in Celtic's winning penalty at Fir Park, following a VAR check! Motherwell vs Celtic & Hearts vs Falkirk reaction | Sky Sports Football now 📺

@donhutch4 Newton's 1690th law. "A body, moving at speed and colliding with another body will be repelled with an equal and opposite force. Except if it hit the hands or arms. This shit doesn't apply to those. For some reason."

Wow the VAR pen in the Celtic game is again. One of the worst decisions of all time. 🗑️ You don’t get that much power with your hand. It hits his forehead 💯 Again the ref did NOT give it on field. So according to law. “It’s not clear and obvious” 🗑️

@ro07135169 @FrankCastleMilk @pieandbov @Paul____Wood Newton's 1690th law. "A body, moving at speed and colliding with another body will be repelled with an equal and opposite force. Except if it hit the hands or arms. This shit doesn't apply to those. For some reason."

@FrankCastleMilk @pieandbov @Paul____Wood Tbf that’s the best video I’ve seen and it makes it even clearer it bounced of his head whilst the hand masks the camera angle infront of the ball also the physics of the ball will not bounce that far with the way his hand is shaped on his head.

In fairness when you see it zoomed in like that it does look like it’s hit his hand with his head behind it. Humble Pie & Bovril? 🥴😂

@chris_mcdonald_ @aboutceltic Newton's 1690th law. "A body, moving at speed and colliding with another body will be repelled with an equal and opposite force. Except if it hit the hands or arms. The law doesn't apply to those for some reason."

@aboutceltic This literally reinforces it hitting his head😂 some folk dont understand physics

🤫🤫🤫

@aboutceltic Huns quoting physics: "Newton's 1690th law states that a body, moving at speed and colliding with another body will be repelled with an equal and opposite force. Except if it hit the hands or arms. The law doesnt apply to those for some reason."