Derek McInnes charged by Scottish FA and could be banned for Rangers debut
Former Hearts boss cited over comments made about Celtic penalty award
Derek McInnes could be banned from the dugout for the start of his Rangers tenure after being served with a notice of complaint by the Scottish Football Association.
The charge relates to comments the former Hearts manager made regarding the last gasp penalty awarded to Celtic in their 3-2 win over Motherwell in the penultimate game of the Premiership season.
The decision by referee John Beaton to penalise Motherwell’s Sam Nicholson for a handball following a VAR intervention which allowed Kelechi Iheanacho to score a stoppage time winner had huge implications on the title race. It enabled Celtic to win the league on the final day with any victory over Hearts, instead of the three-goal margin that would have been required had they remained three points behind.
Celtic went on to defeat Hearts 3-1 at Parkhead to become champions for a fifth successive time and deny the Tynecastle club a historic first championship in 66 years.
McInnes, who left Hearts for Rangers last week, branded the penalty award "disgusting" adding: "When you heard Celtic got a 96th minute penalty that was going to VAR and they were checking it, you just assume what’s happened is they get the penalty.
"I don’t think it’s a penalty kick. But we’re up against it. We’re up against everybody.”
The SFA has now charged McInnes with breaching Disciplinary Rule 72 which punishes individuals who "indicate bias or incompetence on the part of a match official" or make remarks which "impinge on his character."
Motherwell Football Club and their midfielder Elliot Watt have also been served with separate notices of complaint relating to social media posts and comments made in the aftermath of the Celtic match.
The disciplinary hearings have been scheduled for July 16.
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