Rangers’ preparations for the new Scottish Premiership season have been disrupted after manager Derek McInnes received a touchline ban for comments he made about match officials at the end of last season.
The 55-year-old has been handed a four-match suspension, with one game suspended, meaning he is set to miss Rangers’ opening three domestic fixtures unless the club’s appeal overturns the punishment.
The sanction relates to remarks McInnes made following Hearts’ dramatic defeat to Celtic in the penultimate round of last season’s Scottish Premiership campaign.
At the time, McInnes was in charge of Hearts, who were battling Celtic for the league title before eventually falling short on the final day of the campaign.
The controversial encounter was decided by a stoppage-time penalty awarded to Celtic after referee John Beaton, acting on the advice of VAR official Andrew Dallas, ruled that Sam Nicholson had handled the ball inside the penalty area.
The decision sparked widespread debate across Scottish football, with McInnes delivering a passionate assessment during his post-match media duties.
He described referee John Beaton’s decision to award a penalty for handball against Sam Nicholson – on the advice of video assistant Andrew Dallas – as “actually quite disgusting”.
He added: “I shouldn’t be commenting on another game, but having seen that, it feels like us against everybody.”
Those remarks were deemed to have breached Scottish FA disciplinary regulations relating to criticism of match officials.
Despite the ruling, Rangers have firmly backed their new manager and confirmed they intend to challenge the decision through the appropriate appeal process.
In a statement, the Ibrox club defended McInnes’ comments, insisting they were directed at a specific officiating decision rather than questioning the integrity of referees.
The statement read: “We do not believe Derek’s view on a match-defining decision amounted to an attack on the competence or integrity of match officials.
“His comments were directed at the decision, rather than representing any broader criticism of officials. Considered fairly and in context, Derek’s comments did not allege bias, incompetence or dishonesty.”
Unless the appeal succeeds, McInnes will watch Rangers’ Scottish Premiership opener against Dundee United from the stands.
He will also miss the home league fixture against Hibernian and the club’s League Cup second-round tie scheduled for the weekend of August 15 and 16.
The fourth match of the suspension has been suspended and will only be activated if McInnes commits a similar disciplinary offence before the conclusion of the upcoming season.
The punishment continues the Scottish FA’s recent crackdown on criticism directed at referees and VAR officials.
Earlier this month, former Motherwell midfielder Elliot Watt received a four-match suspension after describing Celtic’s decisive penalty as “the worst VAR decision in history” on social media.
Motherwell themselves were also fined £5,000 over a social media post connected to the same incident.
Both Watt and the club were found to have breached disciplinary Rule 72, which prohibits comments suggesting bias or incompetence among match officials or statements that could undermine their character or integrity.
For Rangers, the timing of McInnes’ suspension is far from ideal as the club begins a new era under his leadership.
Having been appointed to lead the Ibrox side into the new campaign, the experienced manager had hoped to oversee the opening weeks from the technical area.
Instead, attention now turns to the appeal process, with Rangers hopeful the decision can be overturned before the Premiership season gets underway.
Until then, McInnes faces the prospect of beginning his Rangers reign from the stands rather than the dugout.
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