Hearts v Celtic referee named, plus assistants and VAR officials for crunch SPFL Premiership match
Tynecastle hosts the game of the weekend on Sunday
The Scottish Football Association today named match officials for Sunday’s top-of-the-table Premiership encounter between Hearts and Celtic at Tynecastle Park. The Edinburgh club are currently six points clear of both Celtic and Rangers as league leaders and will look to stretch their advantage this weekend. The game kicks off at 3pm in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
Atmosphere will be electric in Gorgie for a fixture which could have a major bearing on the destiny of the Premiership title. Celtic, with Martin O’Neill back in charge following the disastrous reign of Wilfried Nancy, will fancy their chances of getting a result against a Hearts team depleted by injuries and suspensions. It is certain to be a keenly-contested affair which will require strong refereeing.
The SFA have appointed the experienced Steven McLean to handle the fixture. He will be assisted by David McGeachie and Jonathan Bell on the touchlines. VAR will be operated by John Beaton, who will have Duncan Nicolson as his assistant. Hearts are unbeaten in the league at Tynecastle so far this season, their only two Premiership defeats coming away against Aberdeen and Hibs. They will be eager to react positively after Saturday’s Scottish Cup fourth-round loss against Falkirk on penalties.
Some key players suffered injuries in that match, including captain Lawrence Shankland. Midfielder Cammy Devlin is already ruled out and his partner in that position, Beni Baningime, is suspended. Hearts head coach Derek McInnes will look to use his squad to compensate for absences in a high-octane match. His team have already beaten Celtic at Tynecastle and in Glasgow this season.
Celtic, meanwhile, have won all three games since O’Neill returned to replace Nancy. They beat Dundee United, Falkirk and Auchinleck Talbot without conceding a goal. They will be determined to avoid falling further behind in the title race as they compete with Rangers to catch Hearts.
McInnes admitted after seeing his team eliminated in the Scottish Cup by Falkirk that the defeat was difficult. He was also aggrieved seeing Tomas Magnusson’s goal disallowed for a handling offence. “Any time you lose in a cup tie on penalties, it's going to sting,” he said. “I'm disappointed. Looking back in the context of the game, it was a tough week in terms of the toll it took on us with injuries and suspensions. We started the game brilliantly and the first half-hour was exactly the way I wanted it, but we've got to do more in the final third. We needed more shots and to take more of our opportunities.
“Falkirk grew into the game after they changed shape nearer the end of the first half. We spoke at half-time about coming out and getting after them. They made changes early and freshened up the top end of the pitch. I thought we got together with that but we lost a poor goal. We should do so much better. I'm not going to highlight people. We have spoken to them but we should do a lot better. It's far too simplistic a goal.
“Then we have to dig ourselves out of a hole and we got the equaliser. I did think the goal we had disallowed was harsh. I don't think VAR should get involved. From the angle I've seen, it isn't definitive that it's a handball. It's up for debate, and I get that, but I was told that the referee would be making those decisions and the referee felt the goal was fine. I'm disappointed it's been chopped off.”