Scottish referee John Beaton and his family were placed under police protection on Thursday night after their personal details were released online. The measure was confirmed by the Scottish Football Association (Scottish FA) and follows a controversial arbitration decision.
Key details
The incident that triggered the situation occurred on Wednesday, during the game between Motherwell and Celtic. After consulting the VAR, Beaton awarded a penalty in favor of Celtic in the penalty area, for a handball from Motherwell’s Sam Nicholson, following a long ball into the area.
Kelechi Iheanacho converted the penalty in the 100th minute to seal Celtic’s 3-2 victory at Fir Park. That result left them just one point behind leaders Hearts ahead of Saturday’s decisive Scottish Premiership title clash at Celtic Park.
In a harsh statement, the Scottish FA strongly condemned what happened. «The Scottish FA condemns in the strongest possible terms attempts to compromise the safety of referees», can be read in the note, which describes this type of vigilantism as «a scourge on our national sport» and thanks the «quick intervention» of the Scottish police.
The federation attributes the escalation of tension to an environment of growing criticism and intolerance. «This is the inevitable consequence of the increase in criticism, intolerance and the search for scapegoats demonstrated this season by commentators, fans, official fans, clubs, players, coaches and former referees», states the organization.
The Scottish FA highlights that mistakes happen to everyone involved in the game, but the reaction is disproportionate when it comes to referees. “Referees are not infallible. Mistakes will be made on the field […] just as coaches choose the wrong team, goalkeepers concede easy goals and attackers make mistakes five meters from goal. However, the reaction to these inevitabilities could not be more contrasting», reinforces
Read more in Serie A news. and related tags: John Beaton, Scottish Football.