ROSS County manager Jim McIntyre accepted that the penalty his side were awarded versus Celtic should never have been given, but defended his player, saying that Alex Schalk was expecting contact.
His County side salvaged a point after Liam Boyce converted the subsequent spot-kick.
“You can clearly see Sviatchenko is going to make a challenge and Alex is expecting it’s coming and he is on his way down expecting the contact,” McIntyre said. “Sviatchenko, being the good defender that he is, doesn’t over-commit, pulls his leg back and Alex goes down.
“We certainly don’t encourage players to go down without any contact, what I’m saying to you is he’s expecting contact and the contact doesn’t come. Does it look good? No, it certainly does not. It’s not a penalty. So, I can totally understand Celtic’s frustration.
“I knew he pulled his leg back, I could see it,” he added.”
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