Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has expressed his "astonishment" at Hearts not being awarded a penalty against Motherwell.

In the first half Fir Park defender Dan Casey challenged Liam Boyce in the box and appeared to kick him in the chest.

Referee David Munro ignored the initial appeals from the visitors but then VAR official Kevin Clancy instructed him to go to the monitor for a second look.

However, the whistler stuck to his guns despite viewing various replays and a penalty was not awarded.

And Gallagher disagreed with the decision. When asked about the incident, he told Sky Sports: "I was astonished a penalty was not given and I was even more astonished that the referee went to the screen.

"He watched it on the screen a number of times and still stuck with his decision. He makes the decision on the field and sticks with it.

"That is his decision but for me it is a penalty."

Meanwhile, Lawrence Shankland has been called up to the Scotland squad for the upcoming fixtures against Georgia and Norway after Che Adams' withdrawal due to an injury.

The Hearts captain was included in the last camp for the games against Spain and France but had not been selected this time around.

Shankland scored twice against Motherwell at the weekend as Steven Naismith's side bounced back from their recent League Cup semi-final disappointment with a 2-1 win at Fir Park.