'I took the most talked about photo of controversial Celtic penalty incident'

The photographer who took the most talked-about photo of the handball incident that awarded Celtic a penalty at Fir Park says it was his first time covering a game in Scotland.

In an exclusive interview with STV News, Ryan Fleming, who snapped the picture for photo agency Alamy, says he realised in the moments after the dramatic finale that he had taken a definitive photo.

In the last seconds of added time, Motherwell’s Sam Nicholson was adjudged to have handled the ball inside his own area after rising high for a challenge with Celtic defender Austin Trusty.

Video assistant referee (VAR) Andrew Dallas deemed it a “serious incident” and a “clear and obvious error” that was missed by referee John Beaton, subsequently calling him to the pitchside monitor.

Ryan Fleming took a definitive photo during Motherwell vs Celtic Ryan Fleming

Following a short review, Beaton made the decision to award a spot-kick, which Kelechi Iheanacho converted, leaving Celtic one point behind Hearts going into the final day fixture between the two at Celtic Park.

The photographer, originally from a small town in Ohio, studied abroad in Glasgow and fell in love with the city, returning to work.

The 25-year-old did his Master’s at Glasgow Caledonian University and has covered major sports in the US, but has never covered a game in Scotland – until Wednesday night.

And he took what appears to be the shot that has the ball closest to Well defender Sam Nicholson’s hand.

The incident sparked global headlines and an outpouring of social media reaction, and with it, AI-generated images were rife.

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The SNS picture agency released a statement on Thursday saying it was aware of a number of images circulating online using its watermark that had been digitally altered.

One image with the SNS watermark appeared to show the ball flush against Nicholson’s hand, whereas the real photos filed by the agency showed no such thing.

Ryan says he realised minutes after getting caught up in the wild celebrations in the away end that he had snapped a clear image.

He told STV News: “I’ve been talking about this title race all year. I know this match was going to be huge.

“I knew I had something with the photo. I didn’t initially know it was a handball because I was so focused on shooting.

“I was going through my photos in the minutes after and I was like ‘wait’. I knew it was going to be pretty important.

“By the looks of it, I have the only photo where the ball is making contact.”

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VAR deemed the handball incident involving Sam Nicholson and Austin Trusty at Fir Park a “clear and obvious error”.

He added: “It’s insane as I say it was my first time shooting the SPFL and my first time shooting with an agency.

“It’s such a good feeling. I’ve been doing this for quite a while and have been on the grind so I’m glad it is paying off. Everyone once in a while, you get your moment.”

When asked about fake images, added: “I had to verify the photo but there were fakes going around. That kind of stuff is a shame because we work hard to do what we do.

“That kind of stuff makes it harder for people to know what is real. It’s not our job to take a stance but to show what is happening.”

You can view Ryan’s work here.