Derek McInnes faces being banned from the touchline in his opening domestic games as Rangers manager after being hit with a disciplinary charge over criticism of match officials. McInnes has been cited by the Scottish Football Association compliance officer over remarks made in the wake of Motherwell’s late defeat by Celtic in the penultimate fixture of last season. The then Hearts boss had criticised the penalty decision which led to Celtic’s match-winner with the last kick of the game. Hearts were in a closely-contested Scottish
Premiership title race with Celtic at the time, which they eventually lost on the final day of the season at their title rivals. If found guilty, McInnes would miss Rangers’ Scottish Premiership opener at Dundee United, which is live on Sky Sports on July 31 – and could then miss a further three fixtures. Rangers’ 2026/27 fixtures Motherwell and Fir Park midfielder Elliot Watt have also been issued with the same charge. Motherwell face a fine of between £1,000 and £100,000 if found guilty while
the minimum punishment for individuals is a four-match ban. They have all been accused of breaching a rule which forbids criticism which indicates “bias or incompetence” on match officials or impinges on their characters. Rangers appoint Derek McInnes as head coachDownload the Sky Sports app and follow your club McInnes described referee John Beaton’s decision to award a penalty for handball against Sam Nicholson – on the advice of video assistant Andrew Dallas – as “actually quite disgusting”. He added after his side’s 3-0 win
over Falkirk: “I shouldn’t be commenting on another game, but having seen that, it feels like us against everybody.” Celtic were facing the challenge of beating leaders Hearts 3-0 on the final day before Kelechi Iheanacho converted the penalty and they ultimately won the title in the closing moments of the season by overturning a one-point deficit and coming from behind with a 3-1 win. Motherwell have been cited as a club in the wake of social media content, which included the phrase “as the
world of football mocks our game”. Watt described the penalty award as the “worst VAR decision in history” on his X account. All three hearings will be heard on July 16 by a judicial panel convened by the SFA. Rangers’ opening 2026/27 Scottish Premiership fixtures 31: Dundee United (a) – 8pm, live on Sky Sports 9: Hibernian (h) – 4pm 22: St Mirren (h) – 3pm 29: Aberdeen (a) – 3pm 2: Falkirk (a) – 7.45pm 5: Motherwell (h) – 3pm 20: Celtic (a) –
12pm, live on Sky Sports
Derek McInnes, Rangers, touchline ban, Scottish Football Association, SFA, Motherwell, Celtic, John Beaton, Andrew Dallas, Sam Nicholson, Elliot Watt, judicial panel, Scottish Premiership fixtures 2026/27
So he said the ref decision was disgusting and now he can’t stand near the touchline? Sounds kinda soft tbh.
They keep banning people for “criticizing” refs like the refs are gods. VAR is already a joke half the time and now managers gotta just eat it? Not surprising tho.
Wait is this the same John Beaton from that other match? I swear VAR always blames someone else, and then the coach gets punished for saying it out loud. Also why is the penalty decision on “advice” like that’s not literally the refs decision? Makes no sense.
4-match ban if found guilty?? So basically he’s gonna miss the opener and then like 3 more… but aren’t bans usually for players not managers on the sideline? I don’t even follow Scottish stuff but it sounds like Celtic bought the title and now Rangers are just trying to complain too late. But he said “us against everybody” so yeah SFA probably hates that.