Hearts were wrongly denied a penalty against Motherwell in the 66th minute of Saturday’s 1-1 draw, according to the Scottish FA’s Key Match Incident panel, in a ruling that lands in the middle of another furious week for VAR in the Scottish Premiership.
Referee Steven McLean was sent to the monitor after Alexandros Kyziridis went down in the box under a challenge from Tawanda Maswanhise while trying to go short to receive a corner. McLean stuck with his original call, and both Kyziridis and Hearts boss Derek McInnes were booked for their protests. The panel later split 2:1 against the on-field decision, saying the referee should have awarded a penalty after being asked to review the incident, and that the final outcome was incorrect.
The ruling matters because it comes straight after Wednesday’s handball penalty in Celtic’s favor helped seal a late winner at Fir Park, a decision that drew heavy criticism and prompted the SFA to condemn what it called “vigilantism” linked to a “hysterical media narrative.” With Hearts and Celtic set to meet on Saturday in a final-day title showdown, any marginal call is now carrying more weight than usual.
The panel’s view on the Motherwell incident was not unanimous. Two members felt VAR was right to intervene, while one believed the original decision of no penalty was correct. That split only adds to the sense that the league’s officials are being asked to navigate a season in which every major review is being argued over before the next whistle even goes.
The same panel also looked at a separate Old Firm derby flashpoint and found Celtic defender Alistair Johnston had not committed a red-card offense after his foul on Rangers midfielder Mikey Moore. Johnston was booked by referee Nick Walsh, and afterward he acknowledged the fine margins defenders are working with. “As a defender now, you have to be so smart with every tackle you put in,” he said. He added: “Was I a little bit lucky? Yeah, probably. Was I intending to injure him? No.”
Johnston said he had been trying to make a hard tackle in a rivalry game and believed the caution was fair at the time. “I was just trying to put a hard tackle in as every single fan on both sides of that rivalry would want their defenders to do,” he said. “I caught him. I thought in the moment that I caught him on the top of the foot. It is what it is. In the moment I thought a yellow card was fair.”
For Hearts, the conclusion is blunt: the penalty should have been given. For everyone else watching the title race, the message is even clearer. Saturday’s meeting with Celtic now arrives with the championship on the line and the officiating debate already burning in the background.
