Rangers announced plans to contest disciplinary action against manager Derek McInnes, who received a four-match touchline ban from the Scottish Football Association for his public criticism of a penalty decision.
The penalty in question was awarded to Celtic during a match at Motherwell on 13 May, when a stoppage-time handball infraction resulted in a conversion by Kelechi Iheanacho. Celtic’s subsequent 3-2 victory kept them within one point of Hearts in the standings before Celtic clinched the title days later. McInnes, who was managing Hearts at the time, described the penalty as “disgusting” and stated he did not believe it should have been awarded, comments he made during a post-match interview following a Rangers victory against Falkirk.
Rangers contended that McInnes’s remarks were specifically directed at the penalty decision itself rather than constituting broader criticism of match officials. The club noted that similar concerns about the call were shared by commentators across the United Kingdom and argued that comparable language had previously been used by others in Scottish football with lesser or no disciplinary consequences. Rangers further asserted that managers, players and clubs should be permitted to provide honest commentary on significant decisions as part of maintaining standards and public trust in the sport.
The SFA’s disciplinary action consists of an immediate three-match suspension with one match suspended until the conclusion of the season. McInnes is scheduled to miss Rangers’ away match against Dundee United on 31 July, their home fixture against Hibernian, and a League Cup tie scheduled for the weekend of 15 August. The ban does not apply to a Europa League qualifier against Polish club Jagiellonia Bialystok.
Separate sanctions were issued against Motherwell and midfielder Elliott Watt for social media posts regarding the penalty. Watt, who has since transferred to a Turkish club, received a four-match suspension after describing the decision as “the worst VAR decision in history.” Motherwell was fined £5,000 for releasing a video with commentary on the incident.
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