Celtic's Alistair Johnston makes Rangers handball claim and reveals team-mate who is 'one of hardest trainers I've seen'

Celtic debutant Alistair Johnston has appealed for consistency in the application of VAR but stopped short of suggesting the Parkhead side dropped points at Ibrox because of its failure to penalise a Connor Goldson handball.

Celtic’s Alistair Johnston helped launch the new 2022/23 SPFL Match Attax Collection, on sale now in Scottish retailers and via Topps.com

It has been the main moment of contention in post-match summations with Johnston echoing the view that Celtic should have been awarded a penalty.

“We live it, we feel it and see it,” said Johnston. “The one on Monday was one you go, ‘okay, I’m not really sure how two hands in front of your face is considered a natural hand position.’

“Obviously there’s been discussion about it. We would have loved it to have been called and we might think it should have been called. But there were other chances in the game where we could have scored, or we could have done better – like at both the goals, for example.

“I could have been tighter to prevent [Ryan] Kent cutting in, if you do that you don’t need to think about the potential penalty or VAR. There are so many other moments within a match. Of course we’d like VAR to be as consistent as possible. At the same time we understand it’s something that’s out of our control. We can't rely on something that’s out of our control.”

Meanwhile, the full-back has also maintained that there will be no complacency within Celtic’s ranks despite the preservation of their nine-point lead in the cinch Premiership.

“You look at guys like Callum McGregor, who could take it easy or coast a little bit,” said the Canadian internationalist. “But he is one of the hardest trainers I’ve ever seen. He puts in tackles all over the place and it’s really cool to see and be part of.

“It comes down to the staff as they’ve implemented this idea it’s not just being part of a team challenging for trophies but also wanting that next step, whether it’s domestically or in Europe. You simply can’t have complacency – it can be so dangerous.

“It is not flowers over there. It is tough work every single day.”

Alistair Johnston was speaking at the launch of the new SPFL Match Attax collection for 22/23 – on sale now in Scottish retailers and via Topps.com. Keep your cards safe by purchasing a binder at Topps.com