Referee confirmed for Rangers v Celtic as familiar face takes centre stage for Old Firm SPFL Premiership clash
After a weekend involving countless controversial decisions the officiating team for Sunday’s Old Firm clash has been selected.
The referee has been confirmed for Sunday’s Scottish Premiership between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox.
As both sides prepare for an Old Firm double header, with two matches in the space of a week, the stakes couldn’t be higher in the midst of a nail-biting title race. Meanwhile next Sunday’s Scottish Cup clash offers a good opportunity of silverware, with Hearts, Motherwell and Hibs all out of the competition.
Five red cards were dished out last weekend in the six Premiership fixtures, highlighting a weekend of absolute madness in terms of refereeing decisions. Both sides of the Old Firm felt aggrieved with decisions against them at the weekend, as Danny Rohl voiced his frustrations that Cammy Kerr wasn’t sent off for a tackle on Mikey Moore when he was about to pull the trigger against Livingston, while Martin O’Neill has appealed Auston Trusty’s red card against Hibs after he lashed out at Jamie McGrath.
All this happened, as well as Richard King’s soft dismissal for St Mirren against Motherwell and Liam Morrison’s double punishment for Aberdeen against Dundee. After a weekend where perhaps the standard of refereeing in the country has never been under more scrutiny, the SFA have revealed who will be the man in the middle on Sunday, as well as the VAR team.
Old Firm officiating team revealed
John Beaton has been assigned as referee for Rangers vs Celtic for the first round of their double header, while Calum Spence and David McGeachie will be running the lines. Steven McLean will be the VAR at Clydesdale House. He’ll be assisted by Kevin Clancy.
The refereeing team can ill-afford any blunders given how high the stakes currently are in the Scottish Premiership. A win for Rangers would put them out of touching distance with Celtic even with their game in hand, while a Hoops away triumph would see them leapfrog their rivals having still played a game less.
Hearts were the main beneficiaries of last weekend, as their 1-0 home win over Falkirk proved to be valuable, with both Old Firm teams dropping points. Rangers came back from 2-0 down to draw with Livingston, while Celtic lost to Hibs at home for the first time in 16 years.
Rohl and O’Neill reaction to weekend incidents
The Kerr tackle on Moore at The Set Fare Arena required a four minute VAR check as they checked for a penalty, however given that the contact was outside the box, VAR was unable to intervene. However, Rohl then believed a red card should’ve been awarded. He said: “For me, it’s a clear foul. I think it’s on the line. And then it’s two decisions. If it’s outside, it’s a red card and a free-kick, or it’s inside, then it’s a penalty and a yellow card. You see it. I think there’s no (contact on the) ball, the contact goes to the man. I think those are crucial moments in this race as well.”
Meanwhile, at Parkhead, the fact Celtic have appealed Trusty’s red card tells you everything you need to know about O’Neill’s views on it. His initial thoughts were: “I've just had a word with the referee. He said he was going to just have a word with the two players then VAR intervened and said it was violent conduct. You can't do this if that's the rules now. It doesn't matter if someone is holding on to you. You can't, in an attempt to break away, you can't thrust down in the manner in which he did."