Referee John Beaton placed under police surveillance after penalty dispute in Celtic’s win over Motherwell, SFA says

The Scottish FA said the referee “John Beaton and his family spent last night at home under police surveillance after personal information was leaked online” and called for “restraint and perspective to prevent any further escalation”.

Beaton faced criticism after converting a late penalty in Celtic’s 3-2 win at Motherwell on Wednesday. The incident at Fir Park, which involved VAR, is the latest in a series of controversies surrounding refereeing decisions since the Scottish Premiership title race ended.

Celtic’s win keeps them within a point of leaders Hearts and the two teams meet at Celtic Park in Saturday’s final top-six clash.

“The Scottish FA strongly condemns any potential attempt to compromise the safety of match officials,” said the SFA, which organizes refereeing in the SPFL.

“Such vigilance, motivated by decisions deemed right or wrong on the playing field, is a blow to our national sport and we are grateful to Police Scotland for their swift intervention.

“As we come to what should be an exciting end to the season, we ask those who have personalized and hyperbolized their opinions, those who look for easy ways to blame defeats on refereeing errors and those who have approved inflammatory statements and posts to reflect on their contribution to creating an atmosphere of fear, dread and apprehension.”