Rangers manager Derek McInnes has had his immediate touchline ban reduced to two matches after a partially successful appeal against punishment for comments he made about a late Celtic penalty while still in charge of Hearts.
The Scottish FA’s disciplinary panel, hearing the case on 31 August, replaced the original four-match suspension – three to be served at once and one suspended – with a new sanction of two immediate games and two suspended until the end of the 2026/27 season. McInnes will therefore sit in the stands for Wednesday’s league trip to Falkirk and Saturday’s home fixture against Motherwell before returning to the dugout for the rearranged visit of St Mirren to Ibrox on 9 September.
The charge stems from remarks McInnes made in a Sky Sports interview on the night of 13 May, after Celtic were awarded a 96th-minute penalty at Motherwell’s Fir Park. With the title race still alive, he said: “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. Having seen it again, it’s disgusting. It is. I don’t think it’s a penalty kick. But we’re up against it. We’re up against everybody.”
The spot-kick, given for handball and converted by Kelechi Iheanacho, secured a 3–2 victory for Celtic, keeping them one point behind Hearts before they clinched the league on the final day as they beat Hearts 3-1. Willie Collum, the SFA’s head of referees, later backed the decision, citing “clear evidence” that Motherwell’s Sam Nicholson had placed his hand and arm in an unnatural position, making it a punishable offence.
Rangers contested the original ruling on the basis that McInnes’ comments were directed at the specific decision rather than constituting a wider attack on match officials. In a statement issued in July, the club argued that “respect for officials and legitimate scrutiny are not competing principles” and that managers, players and clubs must be able to speak honestly about major decisions if Scottish football is serious about raising standards and maintaining trust.
McInnes himself said he had not intended to inflame the situation. “I’ve never wanted to make it personal. For me, the decision was wrong,” he said. “Broadcasters pay a lot of money to hear managers’ reactions. We’ve got to be careful that we don’t have managers and players who have to be really sure of themselves and check themselves before answering a question. At no point was I wanting to inflame a situation. The situation was already being discussed before I did my press. It was quite a big moment in the season and there was a lot of emotion, but I felt as though what I said was controlled.”
Under the revised punishment, the two suspended matches will only be activated if McInnes commits another breach of Disciplinary Rule 72 before the end of the current campaign.