The SFA’s Key Match Incident (KMI) panel has unanimously decided that St Mirren were correctly awarded a penalty kick against Dundee United last weekend.
Toyosi Olusanya went to ground under a challenge from Kevin Holt in injury time with United leading 1-0.
While referee David Dickinson did not hesitate to point to the spot, replays showed minuscule – if any – contact, while Olusanya appeared to delay before deciding to hit the deck.
However, VAR Alan Muir decided not to refer Dickinson to the monitor.
A furious Goodwin later said: “It’s a clear dive, for me. Kevin Holt pulls his leg back and the striker goes over half-a-second later.
“The referee needs to be called to the monitor to make such a big call, not the guy in the VAR room. It was plain to see what happened on the replay and everyone I’ve spoken to has been baffled that a penalty was awarded.
“We need to do a lot better in those situations, as a country, because that could have been very costly; a massive two points dropped.”
United goalkeeper Jack Walton came to the rescue, saving Olusanya’s spot kick and ensuring the Tangerines left with all three points.
However, this week’s KMI panel, which convenes to assess the key VAR calls from the previous round of fixtures, sided with the officials by a margin of 5-0.
The explanatory notes simply read: “The on-field decision was unanimously supported.”
The panel is made of five members; one SFA representative, one from an SPFL club and three other figures with established careers within the game. Refereeing expertise is not a prerequisite.
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