London, England, January 8th 2025: Liverpool manager Arne Slot and Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou shake hands after the final whistle during the EFL Cup match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England Alexander Canillas/SPP PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxBRAxMEX Copyright: Imago Images
Motherwell are seeking external legal advice after being fined £5000 by the Scottish FA for a social media post made following a controversial May defeat to Celtic.
The Fir Park club were sanctioned over remarks published after Celtic’s injury-time penalty winner secured a 3-2 victory in what proved to be a deeply contentious match.
Motherwell midfielder Elliot Watt has separately received a four-game ban after admitting he breached SFA rules with his own comments posted on X following the defeat.
Watt branded the VAR decision “the worst VAR decision in history” on social media, a remark that led to the governing body citing him under rule 72.
The ban means Watt will miss the opening matches of Motherwell’s season, compounded further by a red card he received on the final day of last season against Hibs, meaning he could now miss five games in total.
Motherwell released a statement expressing clear frustration at the outcome of the Hampden disciplinary hearing held earlier this week.
The club said: “The club are extremely disappointed at the outcome of today’s hearing in relation to the Scottish FA’s notice of complaint.”
The statement continued that the complaint related to “a social media post and related video that was published following our last home game of the 2025/26 season.”
Motherwell added they have “requested the written reasons in relation to the decision, and thereafter we will liaise with our external solicitors on any next steps.”
The club had posted a video following the match declaring: “As the world of football mocks our game, we simply have to draw a line in the sand and shift the focus.”
The original controversy stemmed from a VAR check on Sam Nicholson’s aerial challenge with Austin Trusty, with referee John Beaton penalised the Motherwell player for handball after being called to the monitor by Andrew Dallas.
Kelechi Iheanacho then slotted home the resulting penalty in the 99th minute to hand Celtic all three points in a result that had major title-race implications.
Derek McInnes, who was in charge of Hearts at the time, also faces the same rule 72 charge after branding the penalty decision “disgusting.”
Hearts were locked in a tight title race with Celtic, which ended three days later when Celtic secured a dramatic late victory over the Jambos to top the table by two points.
McInnes’ disciplinary hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday at Hampden, where he will face the same governing body scrutiny as Motherwell and Watt.
Rule 72 prohibits players, coaches, and club officials from publicly criticising match officials in a way that suggests bias or incompetence, or from making remarks that impinge on an official’s character.
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