NafisaThere was no shortage of controversy during Sunday’s Old Firm derby at Celtic Park, with tempers flaring almost immediately and both technical areas becoming involved in a heated confrontation.
John Beaton’s performance is now coming under renewed scrutiny after former Scottish FA referee Bobby Madden identified what he believes was a crucial mistake involving Rangers defender Emmanuel Fernandez.
The Rangers defender was already walking a disciplinary tightrope after being booked just four minutes into the match.
Yet, according to Madden, Fernandez should have received another yellow card only 12 minutes later.
Had that happened, Rangers would have been forced to play the vast majority of the derby with ten men — potentially changing the entire complexion of a match they eventually won 1-0.
The first incident came almost immediately after kick-off.
Fernandez hauled down Celtic attacker Camilo Duran as the home side attempted to launch an attack towards the Rangers goal.
Beaton reached for his yellow card, but the officials determined that Duran was moving towards the right rather than directly towards goal, meaning the challenge did not warrant a red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
The decision itself triggered a furious reaction from Rangers boss Derek McInnes.
The incident spilled over towards the technical areas, with Celtic first-team coach Mark Fotheringham also becoming involved in the confrontation.
Both McInnes and Fotheringham were eventually booked, adding another layer of tension to an Old Firm match that was already becoming increasingly heated.
But Fernandez would find himself at the centre of another major flashpoint shortly afterwards.
And this time, Beaton opted not to award a foul at all.
Fernandez escapes another booking
With just 16 minutes on the clock, Fernandez stepped out from the Rangers defence as Celtic midfielder Benjamin Nygren received the ball.
Nygren played the ball beyond the Rangers defender, attempting to move past him and continue the attack.
Fernandez subsequently bundled the Celtic midfielder over.
Beaton allowed play to continue, appearing to believe that the Rangers defender had won the ball in the challenge.
That decision immediately attracted criticism.
Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton described the challenge as “reckless” and labelled Fernandez a “lucky boy”.
But the debate did not end there.
Madden has now analysed the incident and believes Beaton made the wrong call.
The former referee argued that the challenge should have resulted in a free-kick and, because Fernandez had already been booked in the fourth minute, a second yellow card.
Analysing the incident on Instagram, Madden said: “Fernandez, who was cautioned in the fourth minute, [committed] this offence in the 16th minute of the game.
“If we look at this situation in isolation, the attacker plays the ball beyond Fernandez and you can see that this is a clear promising attack.
“Listed within the cautions for unsporting behaviour is stopping a promising attack.
“During the match, the referee did not award a free-kick for this offence. If he had, the yellow card for stopping a promising attack should have been issued.
“We need to remember that VAR cannot get involved with issuing a second yellow card.”
That final point is particularly significant.
VAR could not simply intervene and tell Beaton to send Fernandez off for a second yellow. Once the on-field referee decided that no foul had been committed, the video assistant referee had no authority to recommend a second booking.
The responsibility therefore remained entirely with Beaton.
And Madden’s assessment is that the referee got that decision wrong.
It means the controversy surrounding Fernandez’s involvement in the match goes well beyond his early booking.
Had Beaton awarded the foul in the 16th minute, Fernandez would have been shown another yellow and Rangers would have been reduced to ten men with more than 70 minutes still to play.
That could have transformed the derby.
Instead, Fernandez remained on the pitch and Rangers went on to keep Celtic at bay.
Celtic cannot blame Beaton for defeat:
There is an important caveat to the controversy.
Celtic’s performance was not good enough to make the refereeing decision the sole explanation for their defeat.
Martin O’Neill’s side struggled to create enough clear opportunities and ultimately failed to find a way past the Rangers defence.
Rangers, meanwhile, took advantage of their opportunity when Ryan Naderi struck in the first half, giving McInnes’ side another massive Old Firm victory.
So while Celtic cannot simply point towards Beaton to explain a 1-0 defeat, Madden’s assessment raises a legitimate question about what might have happened had Rangers been forced to play the majority of the game with ten men.
The timing is what makes the decision particularly significant.
The score was still 0-0.
Only 16 minutes had been played.
And Fernandez, who had already been cautioned, was involved in another incident that Madden believes warranted a second yellow.
Instead, Rangers remained at full strength and eventually walked away from Celtic Park with another three points.
For Celtic supporters, it is another frustrating “what if?” moment from a derby in which their side ultimately fell short.
For Rangers, it was another escape — and another Old Firm victory.
Nafisa
