Derek McInnes will serve a ban from the stands for Rangers’ opening three domestic games of the season after comments he made while in charge of Hearts regarding a controversial stoppage-time penalty.
The remarks were directed at a 96th-minute spot-kick for handball, converted by Kelechi Iheanacho, which McInnes described as “disgusting” in a post-match interview with Sky Sports following Hearts’ win against Falkirk at Tynecastle. “When you heard Celtic got a 96th-minute penalty that was going to VAR and they were checking it, you just assume what’s happened is they get the penalty,” he said. “Having seen it again, it’s disgusting. It is. But we’re up against it. We’re up against everybody.”
McInnes will miss Rangers’ Scottish Premiership opener away to Dundee United on 31 July, as well as the following home league game against Hibernian and a League Cup tie on the weekend of 15/16 August. The ban does not extend to the Europa League qualifier against Polish side Jagiellonia Bialystok.
McInnes was not the only figure sanctioned in connection with the incident. Tony Watt, who has since joined Turkish club Samsunspor, received a four-match suspension after calling it “the worst VAR decision in history”, while Motherwell were fined £5,000 for releasing a video captioned: “As the world of football mocks our game, we simply have to draw a line in the sand and shift the focus.” Referee John Beaton’s contact details were also posted online following the late drama, with police placing his home under surveillance and a teenager subsequently charged “in connection with a data protection offence”.
The Scottish FA compliance officer issued complaints to all three parties under disciplinary rule 72, which prohibits anyone under SFA jurisdiction from criticising match officials in a way that indicates bias or incompetence, or making remarks that impinge on a match official’s character. The suspended element of McInnes’ ban will be activated should he breach rule 72 again before the end of the 2026-27 season.
Image credit: BBC Sport / BBC Sport
