The Glasgow Derby between Celtic and Rangers will be a hotly contested fixture.
With Celtic looking to seal the title as early as possible, a win over Rangers will help keep the Bhoys’ league title winning date at St Johnstone on track.
With any Glasgow Derby having the potential to be a powderkeg clash, the SFA have announced who will officiate the big game between Celtic and Rangers with a controversial VAR appointment put in place.
SFA announce John Beaton role for Celtic vs Rangers clash
Whoever gets the nod to take charge of any Celtic vs Rangers Glasgow Derby will be under serious pressure, but for John Beaton, it’s especially difficult.
The whistler has been at the centre of many controversies in the big derby games but this time, he has been handed the crucial VAR role for the Celtic Park clash.
As per the SFA website, the match officials are as follows:
- Match referee: Steven McLean
- Assistant referees: Graeme Stewart & Dougie Potter
- VAR: John Beaton
- AVAR: Sean Carr
John Beaton’s Celtic record as Rangers game takes focus
Beaton has refereed a grand total of 58 Celtic games as an SFA grade referee.
Of those games, Celtic have won a total of 44, drawn 11 and lost just three. The most high profile of those defeats was the 2-0 Glasgow Derby loss to Rangers in 2020 and all the furore that happened after that match.
However, Beaton was also in charge of this season’s League Cup final which Celtic won on penalties.
However, as the operator of VAR, Beaton was also in charge during Celtic’s infamous Hearts defeat, where he deemed Hyunjun Yang’s high boot as a red card offence and the handball by Tomoki Iwata as a penalty in the 2-0 Tynecastle defeat.
The appointment of Beaton may well feel controversial for Celtic fans at least, but many will be hoping that it is a positive Parkhead result they are talking about and not officiating decisions in Scotland’s showpiece fixture.
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