John Beaton has been named as the referee for Celtic’s Glasgow Derby at Ibrox this weekend.
After a week filled with refereeing controversy in Scotland, Martin O’Neill will be hoping that the referee doesn’t dominate the conversation on Sunday.
After Celtic’s defeat to Hibernian, there is little room for more error in the Scottish Premiership title-race. The game at Ibrox is very likely to have an impact on where the trophy ends up in May.
John Beaton is, for better or worse, a familiar name for Celtic fans in these games. We revisited the seven Glasgow Derbies he has officiated…
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Rangers vs Celtic: John Beaton’s record in Glasgow Derbies
Rangers 1-5 Celtic (Premiership, 2017)
Beaton’s first match in the middle of Scotland’s biggest fixture was Celtic’s best-ever winning margin at Ibrox. The biggest call of this match was undoubtedly Jozo Simunovic’s tackle on Kenny Miller, which has become iconic.
Despite desperate calls from the home crowd, the tackle was (correctly) deemed fair. In a post-VAR world, that would probably not be the case.
He also gave Celtic a penalty for the opening goal, after a late tackle from Myles Beerman on Patrick Roberts. Scott Sinclair did the honours and got the rout underway.
Rangers 1-0 Celtic (Premiership, 2018)
This was, after two-and-a-half years in Scotland, Brendan Rodgers’ first defeat to Rangers. It was also his last derby in his first spell; he left for Leicester six weeks later.
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Celtic were appalling on the day and deservedly lost. Callum McGregor had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside.
Celtic 0-2 Rangers (Premiership, 2020)
Beaton’s first derby at Celtic Park was behind closed doors. In a dreadful season, this was a sign of things to come from Neil Lennon’s side. Patryk Klimala started up front for the Hoops.
Despite home advantage, Celtic didn’t manage a single shot on target – little focus on the referee in this one.
Rangers 2-2 Celtic (Premiership, 2023)
After a two-and-a-half year break from officiating these games, this was Beaton’s return. Ange Postecoglou’s Celts scored at the beginning and at the end of this game, taking a draw on the way to a treble.
Rangers were awarded a soft penalty in the second-half after a tackle on Fashion Sakala from Carl Starfelt.
Rangers 3-3 Celtic (Premiership, 2024)
This was Beaton’s first game of significant controversy. Matt O’Riley dinked a penalty to put Celtic 2-0 up in the first-half – the referee had missed this in real time, and the spot-kick was given after a VAR intervention.
He was again saved by VAR when Cyriel Dessers had a goal ruled out for a blatant foul by Tom Lawrence on Tomoki Iwata which had been missed in real time.
Perhaps the biggest call of the game was Rangers’ penalty in the second half. Fabio Silva had been booked for a theatrical dive after a tackle from Alistair Johnston, but Beaton was sent to the monitor, giving a foul after an on-field review. An extremely questionable decision.
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Celtic 3-0 Rangers (Premiership, 2024)
This must’ve been the easiest game to officiate on this list. Celtic secured the most routine of victories thanks to goals from Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi and Callum McGregor.
No big referee calls to revisit, though Kyogo did have a goal ruled out for offside in the first-half. This was an absolute walk in the park.
Celtic 3-3 Rangers [5-4 pen] (Premier Sports Cup, 2024)
In one of the most enthralling derbies in recent memory, Celtic 2-0 behind, came back to 2-2 before entering extra time.
After both sides scored in extra-time, Celtic stepped up to win the trophy on penalties.
Beaton denied Rangers a penalty in the closing stages for a challenge on Vaclav Cerny from Liam Scales. SFA refereeing chief Willie Collum labelled this call ‘unacceptable’ after public pressure from the Ibrox side.
Summary: Three wins for Celtic, two for Rangers and two draws. No red cards in any of the seven games. Two penalties for Celtic, two for Rangers.
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