Motherwell's Fine Upheld Despite Appeal and Watt's Suspension Reduced

Motherwell have failed in their bid to have a £5,000 fine cut for their furious reaction to a last-gasp penalty decision against Celtic – but Elliot Watt has seen his suspension reduced.

An independent Scottish FA appeal panel upheld the original sanction against the club over a social media post published after referee John Beaton, with VAR assistance, awarded a stoppage-time spot-kick for handball against Sam Nicholson in May at Fir Park.

The post, which featured a video montage of the incident from Motherwell’s 3-2 defeat, carried the pointed line: “as the world of football mocks our game”. Moments later on the pitch, Kelechi Iheanacho buried the penalty with virtually the final kick, sealing a dramatic Celtic win and igniting a storm off it.

The disciplinary fallout has rumbled on ever since.

Elliot Watt's Suspension

Watt, now playing for Samsunspor in Turkey, was originally hit with a four-match suspension after he branded the call the “worst VAR decision in history” on his X account. His punishment has now been cut to a two-game ban, with a further two matches suspended until the end of next season.

Both Motherwell and Watt were charged under rules prohibiting criticism of match officials that implies “bias or incompetence”. The panel has stood firm on the club’s liability, but shown limited leniency to the former midfielder.

Wider Implications

The case drops into a wider pattern. Only last week, Rangers manager Derek McInnes had his own penalty trimmed on appeal for comments about the same incident. Then in charge of Hearts, McInnes described the decision as “disgusting” in a television interview and claimed, “we are up against everybody”. His immediate three-game touchline ban was reduced to two.

The message from Hampden is clear: the anger may spill over, the words may sting, but the price for taking direct aim at officials is only going in one direction.