Hearts player James Wilson said that Clinton Nsiala’s shove during their loss to Rangers knocked him off balance, and he later said, “It felt like a penalty.”
Debate raged over whether the Jambos should have got a spot kick when the teenage striker seemed to push Wilson during a contentious period in the game.
At that point, the game was evenly balanced at 1-1, and the Gers added insult to injury by going up the park to take the lead again through Vaclav Cerny.
Neil McCann, who played for both teams, was on Sky Sports co-commentary and felt Hearts had a great shout for a spot kick but the three-man panel in the studio of Chris Sutton, Kris Boyd and James McFadden disregarded the shout. Now Wilson is the first of the two players engaged in the incident to speak.
The 17-year-old said, “I feel the shove on my back,” as reported by the Edinburgh Evening News. It has caused me to lose my equilibrium and go to the ground. I can definitely feel the pressure. It felt like a penalty, but I’m not sure how much it looks like one.
Wilson rejected any notion that he exaggerated the fall in a bid to win a penalty, stating: “No, I haven’t. I haven’t tried that. I’ve legit been knocked off my balance. It’s annoying, but that’s football You’re going to get decisions to go against you and you have to try and bounce back.
“I think probably that’s the most disappointing part of our performance. I think when it went to 3-1, we probably just didn’t have the belief to get back in the game. We had chances but I just think the belief kind of went a bit.
“It’s probably one of the toughest games I’ve played, up there with FC Copenhagen. When you see the size of bodies, guys who have played European football. I’m just taking every opportunity I can and I was feeling confident in the games. I didn’t think I had a bad game, so it gives you confidence as a young player.
“Every game is like that. Even in the Lowland League [with the Hearts B team], the guys that play there are still streetwise. You get used to that. It’s a factor, but I wouldn’t say it’s any different to any other league in Scotland.”
