Motherwell Fail to Reduce £5,000 Fine Amid VAR Controversy

Motherwell have failed in their bid to have a £5,000 fine reduced for their furious reaction to a last-minute VAR penalty against Celtic – but Elliot Watt has seen his punishment eased.

An independent Scottish FA appeal panel upheld the original sanction against the club, imposed after a pointed social media post following the dramatic 3-2 defeat at Fir Park in May. The message, published in the immediate aftermath of referee John Beaton’s VAR-assisted award for handball against Sam Nicholson, featured the line “as the world of football mocks our game” alongside a video montage of the incident.

The penalty, converted by Kelechi Iheanacho with virtually the final kick, sparked anger across the Motherwell support and within the club. The board chose to go public with their frustration, and the SFA’s disciplinary arm moved just as swiftly in response.

Where the club found no joy, a former player did. Watt, now with Samsunspor in Turkey, has had his initial four-game suspension cut in half after appealing his punishment for a post on his X account branding the call the “worst VAR decision in history”.

His ban now stands at two matches, with a further two suspended until the end of next season, leaving the midfielder under clear warning over any future criticism of officials.

Both Motherwell and Watt were charged under rules prohibiting public comments that suggest “bias or incompetence” from match officials – a line the SFA has been keen to defend as scrutiny of VAR intensifies across the Scottish game.

The case does not stand alone. Only last week, Rangers manager Derek McInnes had his own penalty trimmed on appeal after comments about the same late penalty at Fir Park. Then in charge of Hearts, McInnes called the decision “disgusting” in a television interview and claimed “we are up against everybody”. His touchline ban was reduced from three matches to two.

One incident, three separate punishments, and a string of appeals. The debate over VAR’s place in Scottish football is not going away – and neither, it seems, is the SFA’s determination to clamp down on those who challenge it in public.