Adam Idah netted two penalties on his first Celtic start as a stoppage-time VAR decision at Easter Road earned the Irishman the chance to make himself an instant hero.

Idah secured a 2-1 victory over Hibernian after Joe Newell was adjudged to have fouled Kyogo Furuhashi just after the Celtic substitute shot into David Marshall’s arms from 18 yards.

Referee Nick Walsh made the call after being called to his monitor by video assistant Andrew Dallas as the Japanese striker hobbled to his feet.

Idah also netted a 10th-minute penalty, which came at a heavy price as Alistair Johnston was carried off on a stretcher.

The game was a tight affair until Dylan Levitt volleyed an equaliser on the hour mark and brought the game to life.

Hibs had the better chances to claim three points before the late drama allowed Brendan Rodgers to savour his first win at Easter Road in his fifth visit as Celtic restored their three-point lead over Rangers, who have one game in hand in the cinch Premiership title race.

Nicolas Kuhn also made his first Celtic start in a new-look front three that featured Daizen Maeda following his return from the Asian Cup, while Stephen Welsh replaced Maik Nawrocki in central defence.

Hibernian lined up with a 4-5-1 formation, with Lewis Miller and Martin Boyle also back from the Qatar tournament, and Nick Montgomery’s side sat deep in the opening moments.

But their attempts to frustrate Celtic came unstuck when Nectarios Triantis was late on Johnston in an aerial challenge. Walsh pointed to the spot before the Canada international was carried off on a stretcher after about five minutes of treatment.

Anthony Ralston came on before Idah sent David Marshall the wrong way from the spot.

Hibs remained disciplined in their shape and they had a good chance midway through the half when Jordan Obita’s cross caused difficulties for Celtic, with both Joe Hart and Alexandro Bernabei unable to deal with it. The ball broke invitingly for Elie Youan eight yards out but the wide player shot well over, although Walsh gave a corner after Liam Scales threw himself in front of the effort.

Idah missed chances either side of the break but was flagged offside each time before being played in again by Matt O’Riley and being foiled by a good save from Marshall.

Hibs levelled after Joe Newell’s free-kick was headed back to Levitt by Will Fish. The Wales midfielder showed excellent technique to guide his strike into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

The home fans suddenly found their voice and Hart parried Myziane Maolida’s overhead kick before Boyle went flying in the box as he took on Bernabei. The winger was booked for diving.

The Celtic defence looked vulnerable and Rodgers brought on Nawrocki for Welsh.

Ralston made two important blocks as Hibs continued to press before Rodgers brought on Furuhashi in the 71st minute.

Celtic had a better spell but both Idah and Furuhashi failed to get shots away after Bernabei’s cross ultimately set both of them up for good chances.

Miller missed a glorious chance for Hibs when he sent Newell’s deep cross beyond the far post and Fish then turned on the edge of the box and shot just wide.

The game was on a knife edge but it went Celtic’s way as Idah again sent Marshall the wrong way.

The Scottish Football Association has hit back at Rangers as the row over a non-penalty incident at Celtic Park continues.

Celtic defender Alistair Johnston appeared to handle the ball inside the area in the first half of the cinch Premiership clash at Parkhead on December 30 while under pressure from Gers forward Abdallah Sima.

Referee Nick Walsh pointed for a goal kick and the decision was confirmed by VAR official Willie Collum following a check.

It later emerged through Sky Sports – broadcasting the match live – that there had been an offside in the build-up and Rangers claimed that was never mentioned during the VAR analysis.

The Ibrox club called on the SFA to release the audio of the incident and following a meeting with the governing body on Wednesday, Rangers said there was “an overriding consensus the VAR decision of no handball was incorrect”.

The Govan club also added they were “deeply concerned” by the speed of the decision and there were reports that the club had requested that Collum not be involved in Rangers games going forward.

However, in a lengthy statement the SFA said: “The Scottish FA is disappointed by contents of the most recent statement issued by Rangers.

“Chief executive James Bisgrove and director of football operations Creag Robertson attended a private briefing with the head of referee operations, Crawford Allan, to review the incident in question, including the use of matchday audio.

“We understood from the chief executive that the meeting had been constructive and informative, and conducted amicably. This does not appear to be reflected in the club’s statement.

“During the meeting, it was pointed out that the incident in question was a subjective handball and that the VAR did not deem it a sufficiently clear and obvious error to refer to on-field review.

“Furthermore, the offside would not have been mentioned at the time as it was not part of the VAR’s decision-making on the handball.

“It was highlighted within Clydesdale House that had the VAR considered the incident to be a handball offence and asked the referee to carry out an on-field review, the attacking phase of play would have been checked and an offside would have been identified.

“This supplementary information was relayed to broadcasters in-game, and we are reviewing the process of information dissemination to avoid any perceived ambiguity in future.

“There was an overall consensus that the incident could not have led to a penalty kick being awarded in any event, and that there was no impact on the final outcome of the match.”

The statement continued: “Since the summer, we have ensured that key match incidents [KMI] are reviewed and shared with all clubs after every full round of Premiership fixtures, including use of audio.

“We will continue to do this, along with KMI being shared with the independent review panel for their consideration and opinion.

“Finally, we note posts from a recent official media partner of the club’s detailing requests from the private meeting that were immediately rejected.

“We would ask that club representatives show greater responsibility in such matters, especially in the context of recent incidents in European football that have compromised the safety of match officials and led to widespread condemnation.”

The latter comments comes after former MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca was recently given a permanent suspension for punching referee Halil Umut Meler after his side’s draw with Caykur Rizespor in the Turkish Super Lig.