Overview
- The Scottish FA on Wednesday, July 22, handed McInnes a four-match touchline ban with one match suspended, which will keep him out of Rangers’ first three domestic games but does not apply to Europa League qualifiers.
- The sanction stems from comments McInnes made while Hearts manager after Celtic were awarded a stoppage-time VAR penalty at Fir Park on May 13 that helped decide the 2025/26 title race; he described the decision as “disgusting.”
- Rangers have formally announced they will appeal the ban, arguing McInnes criticised the decision not the competence or integrity of officials and pointing to what they say are inconsistencies in past punishments.
- Separately the SFA suspended former Motherwell midfielder Elliott Watt for four matches and fined Motherwell £5,000 for social-media commentary about the same incident, and police have investigated after a referee’s personal details were posted online.
- Disciplinary rule 72 bars public statements that imply bias or incompetence by match officials and the appeal outcome could set a precedent on how freely managers, players and clubs can publicly scrutinise VAR and match‑defining decisions.