Referee to take charge of Hearts clash as he's handed Jambos match for first time since penalty controversy
Refereeing appointments for upcoming Hearts matches have been announced.
Referee John Beaton has been assigned a Hearts match for the first time since last season’s penalty kick controversy.
Wouter Vrancken's side face Falkirk in their next Premiership match on September 15 and Beaton will be the man in the middle. He will be assisted by Calum Spence and Gordon McCabe as his linesmen with Duncan William on VAR duties. Andrew Dallas will be his assistant while Daniel Graves operates as fourth official.
It’s the first time Beaton has been in a Hearts clash since a stormy end to last season. In the penultimate game of the season between Motherwell and Celtic, the experienced official handed the Hoops a penalty, in second half stoppage time. Former Jambo Sam Nicholson was judged by VAR official Dallas to have handled the ball inside the box when competing with Celtic’s Auston Trusty in the air. Beaton agreed after review and Kelechi Iheanacho scored the resulting penalty to seal a 3-2 win for Martin O’Neill’s team.
What happened in Celtic penalty controversy last season that impacted Hearts?
A 2-2 draw would have meant Celtic needed to win by a three-goal margin to claim glory on the final day at home to Hearts but victory ensured just three points would do. Celtic eventually claiming top prize by winning 3-1, and before it was disbanded, the Key Match Incident panel said VAR shouldn’t have got involved with what happened at Fir Park.
Controversy soon turned ugly amid criticisms of Beaton after the Scottish FA confirmed he and his family spent a night ‘at home under police surveillance following a leak of personal details online’ in the aftermath of what happened. Beaton’s last match involving Hearts directly was May’s 2-1 win over Rangers at Tynecastle.
Stenhousemuir are up next in the Premier Sports Cup last eight this Friday at Ochilview. Hearts’ clash with the current Championship leaders will be officiated Calum Scott with Dougie Potter and Ross Nelson assisting him. VAR is not listed for the game and Ryan Lee is listed as fourth official.
Vrancken will be without Blair Spittal after the midfielder picked up an ankle injury in last week’s Edinburgh derby win over Hibs that will rule him out for months. Spittal said: "Been an amazing couple of weeks to be involved at the club after a tough start, loving every minute of it. Gutted to pick up this injury but already looking forward to being back out there with the boys."
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