SFA panel delivers verdict on major Rangers and Celtic decisions, along with Hearts vs. Aberdeen grievances.

The Scottish Football Association’s Key Match Incident (KMI) panel has released its latest review of refereeing decisions from the past week in the Scottish Premiership, assessing a number of controversial moments involving clubs including Rangers, Celtic, Heart of Midlothian and Aberdeen.

The three-person panel, which meets every week and is made up of experienced figures from within the Scottish game, examined ten incidents from matches played between February 28 and March 4. After reviewing each situation, the panel concluded that the match officials handled every one of them correctly.

One of the most discussed incidents came during last Sunday’s Old Firm clash between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox. Late drama unfolded in the 89th minute when Celtic appealed for a penalty after a header from Daizen Maeda struck the arm of Rangers defender Dujon Sterling before diverting toward goalkeeper Jack Butland. At that stage of the match, Rangers were leading 2–1.

Celtic were awarded a penalty when Daizen Maeda’s header was deflected by the arm of Rangers defender Dujon Sterling onto Jack Butland. | Getty Images

Referee John Beaton was advised by VAR official Steven McLean to review the incident on the pitchside monitor. After watching the replay, Beaton determined that the ball had struck Sterling’s arm and awarded Celtic a penalty.

Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate stepped up to take the spot kick, but Butland initially denied him with a save. The goalkeeper also managed to block the rebound attempt, yet Hatate eventually forced the ball across the line at the third attempt, ensuring Celtic secured a dramatic late equaliser. Following its review, the KMI panel unanimously agreed that the decision to award the penalty was correct.

Another talking point involving Celtic occurred in their 2–1 victory over Aberdeen on Wednesday. The Glasgow side believed they should have been awarded a penalty when a cross from Sebastian Tounekti appeared to strike the arm of Aberdeen defender Jack Milne inside the penalty area.

Celtic’s Liam Scales fouls Aberdeen’s Toyosi Olusanya inside the box conceding a penalty during the Premiership match at Pittodrie on Wednesday. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group) | SNS Group

Despite strong appeals from Celtic players, referee Nick Walsh decided against awarding a spot kick. VAR official Chris Graham checked the footage but concluded that the situation did not warrant an on-field review.

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill expressed frustration after the match, stating that the incident appeared to be a clear handball and that his team should have been given a penalty. However, the KMI panel disagreed with that assessment. After examining the footage, the panel confirmed that the referee’s original call was correct and unanimously supported the on-field decision not to award a penalty.

The same match also featured a penalty awarded to Aberdeen when Celtic defender Liam Scales was judged to have fouled Toyosi Olusanya inside the box. Walsh awarded the penalty during the game, and the decision was subsequently checked and upheld by Graham on VAR. The KMI panel reviewed the challenge and agreed that the officials had made the correct call in awarding the spot kick.

Another point of contention from the match concerned Celtic’s winning goal, scored by substitute Benjamin Nygren after a cutback from James Forrest. Aberdeen interim manager Peter Leven argued afterwards that Nygren appeared to be in an offside position when the pass was delivered. However, that particular incident was not included in the KMI panel’s list of cases reviewed for the week.

Meanwhile, Aberdeen also had complaints during their 1–0 defeat against Hearts at Tynecastle the previous Saturday. In that match, midfielder Stuart Armstrong went down in the penalty area following a challenge from Hearts defender Michael Steinwender. Leven insisted after the game that the incident should have resulted in a penalty for Aberdeen, claiming it was an obvious foul.

The KMI panel, however, reached a different conclusion. After studying the challenge, all three members agreed that the referee had made the correct decision in allowing play to continue. Aberdeen also appealed for a separate penalty in the same match for an alleged handball by a Hearts player, but that claim was also rejected by the panel.

In total, the KMI panel reviewed ten key incidents from the Scottish Premiership fixtures played across the specified dates. Their final verdict was that match officials made the correct decisions in every case examined, meaning no errors were recorded for the period under review.