Derek McInnes is set to miss the first three domestic games as Rangers manager due to a four-match touchline ban (with one match suspended) imposed by the Scottish FA.
The ban stems from comments he made as Hearts manager criticising a late VAR-awarded penalty for Celtic against Motherwell last season, which he called “actually quite disgusting“.
A hearing on Wednesday found him guilty of breaching SFA rules, but Rangers are appealing the decision.
The games that Derek McInnes will miss
As it stands, McInnes will have a watching brief in the stand for the following games:
- Scottish Premiership opener – Away to Dundee United on July 31
- Scottish Premiership – Home vs Hibernian on August 9
- Scottish League Cup second round – August 16
The fourth match is suspended until the end of the 2026-27 season.
The ban applies to domestic fixtures and does not cover Europa League qualifiers meaning the manager can take his place in the dugout for the ties against Jagiellonia Bialystok.
What did McInnes say about the SFA ban
After the friendly win against St. Etienne on Wednesday, McInnes firstly acknowledged that he was glad Rangers are appealing the sanction, and he didn’t really want to elaborate.
When asked if it was important that managers felt they could still speak their mind, he responded:
“I’ve been a manager for 19 years now and part of my job is, you know you’re going to be asked on contentious decisions and all the rest of it. I’ve never wanted to make it personal. For me, the decision was wrong. I feel as though I made my points at the hearing today.
“I do think, in general, 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 the 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, and that’s what the appeal process will now discuss and consider.”
