- SFA officials announced for Dundee United clash
- Beaton returns to Ibrox after officiating Old Firm draw last month
- Willie Collum praises Beaton for handling of Celtic match
John Beaton will officiate Rangers home match against Dundee United this Saturday, the SFA have announced.
This will mark Beaton’s fourth encounter with the Ibrox club this season following their 2-1 away victory to Livingston and 1-0 win at Hibernian and the 2-2 draw against Celtic last month.
Beaton will be assisted by David McGeachie and Chris Rae on his return to Ibrox.
A win for Danny Rohl’s men against Jim Goodwin’s side will see them leapfrog Hearts, at least temporarily, as the Jambos are away to Livingston on Sunday.
Old Firm and Livingston controversies involving John Beaton
The appointment of John Beaton comes a month after the Old Firm derby clash at Ibrox which was not without controversy.
In the 82nd minute, Dujon Sterling had appeared to grab the shirt of Celtic’s Sebastian Tounekti, however, the visitors were awarded a penalty to level the scoring.
The incident is not the only match where Beaton has received backlash during a Rangers’ match this campaign.
The then Livingston manager David Martindale revealed he received a phone call from Beaton to apologise for not awarding the Lions a penalty after Tete Yengi’s effort struck the arm of Emmanuel Fernandez with Rangers going on to win the match.
Willie Collum defends Beaton after Old Firm delay
Today’s announcement also comes a week after Willie Collum refused to criticise John Beaton after the delay in awarding Celtic’s penalty in the recent Old Firm clash.
Beaton had not spotted the penalty incident and it was not until watching the replay that he pointed to the spot.
Praising Beaton on the VAR Review Show, he said: “Firstly, zero criticism of the match referee, the on-field officials, because I don’t think anybody claimed for that handball. I don’t think anybody in the stadium was aware.
“The referee here, I have to say, handled the game very well”
