Rangers appeal McInnes touchline ban over Celtic penalty remarks

Rangers have confirmed they are appealing against a four-match touchline ban imposed on manager Derek McInnes over comments he made about a penalty awarded to Celtic last season, calling the disciplinary process into question on grounds of “consistency” and “precedent”.

McInnes was in charge of Hearts in May when Celtic were awarded a stoppage-time penalty away to Motherwell, converted by Kelechi Iheanacho to seal a 3-2 win that kept the Hoops in touching distance of Hearts in the title race before Celtic won the championship on the final day. The penalty followed a VAR review by Andrew Dallas that overturned referee John Beaton’s original call.

Speaking to Sky Sports after his own side had beaten Falkirk that night, McInnes described the award as “disgusting” and said he did not believe it was a penalty. The Scottish FA subsequently handed him a four-game touchline ban, with three matches to be served immediately and a fourth suspended until the end of the season.

Rangers stand by their manager

In a statement announcing the appeal, Rangers said they did not believe McInnes’s remarks “amounted to an attack on the competence or integrity of match officials”, insisting his comments “were directed at the decision, rather than representing any broader criticism of officials”.

The club pointed to the Scottish FA’s own Key Match Incident Panel, which later concluded that Beaton’s original decision not to award a penalty had in fact been correct and that VAR should not have intervened. Rangers argued that “similar language has previously been used in Scottish football by others with lesser disciplinary action or without any action at all, raising legitimate questions about consistency, precedent and the application of the rules.”

The club also noted that McInnes’s comments predated his appointment as Rangers manager but said “the issue at stake is important and must be challenged”.

McInnes: ‘I’ve never wanted to make it personal’

Speaking after Rangers’ friendly win over St Etienne at Ibrox, his first home game in charge, McInnes welcomed the club’s decision to fight the sanction. “I don’t agree with it and the club don’t agree with it. I’m glad that we’re going to appeal against that,” he said.

“I’ve been a manager for 19 years and you know you’re going to be asked about contentious decisions and all the rest of it. I’ve never wanted to make it personal. For me, the decision was wrong. I feel as though I made my points at the hearing.”

He added that broadcasters “pay a lot of money to hear managers’ reactions” and warned against a climate in which managers and players “have to be really sure of themselves and check themselves before answering a question”, insisting he had never intended to inflame the situation.

What’s at stake for Rangers

Should the ban be upheld, McInnes would be forced to watch from the stands for Rangers’ Scottish Premiership opener away to Dundee United on 31 July, their following league fixture at home to Hibernian, and a League Cup tie on the weekend of 15-16 August.

Rangers say McInnes’s concerns over the Motherwell penalty were “widely shared by other commentators across the UK” at the time, and the club will now push for the sanction to be overturned or reduced before the new season gets fully under way.

Sources

• BBC Sport
• Daily Record

This is an independent report written from the facts across the sources named above.