Motherwell have been unsuccessful in an attempt to reduce a £5,000 fine for their reaction to a last-gasp penalty award to Celtic at Fir Park in May, but former player Elliot Watt's suspension has been cut. A Scottish FA appeal panel upheld the decision to punish the club for a social media post in the wake of referee John Beaton's VAR-assisted decision for a handball against Sam Nicholson. The message included the phrase "as the world of football mocks our game" and a video montage of the action from their 3-2 defeat.
Kelechi Iheanacho converted from the spot with the last kick of the game. Watt, now with Samsunspor in Turkey, was initially suspended for four games after writing "worst VAR decision in history" on his X account. That has been reduced to a two-match ban, with a further two suspended, until the end of next season.
Both club and player were charged with breaching rules that forbid criticism of match officials that implies "bias or incompetence". Last week, Rangers manager Derek McInnes had his punishment cut from an immediate three-game touchline ban to two matches for comments made about the same incident. Hearts boss at the time, he described the decision as "disgusting" in a TV interview and claimed "we are up against everybody".
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