Keith Hackett: John Beaton should have told VAR 'go away' as Celtic controversy re-analysed
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Credit: Sky Sports Football
Harri Burton
Mon 15 September 2025 14:03, UK
John Beaton should not have given Celtic the chance to beat Kilmarnock from the penalty spot, according to Keith Hackett.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that neither incident inside Killie’s penalty area should have resulted in a spot-kick if John Beaton had full control.
Football Insider understands that Celtic are trying everything to stop Daizen Maeda leaving, and it was the Japan international who opened the scoring at Rugby Park on Sunday, 14 September.
David Watson netted the all-important equaliser with seven minutes remaining, having escaped a previous penalty call in the Hoops’ favour in the 69th minute.
When all signs pointed towards the game finishing 1-1, Brendan Rodgers‘ side were handed a lifeline in the fourth minute of added time as Lewis Mayo handled the ball inside the penalty area.
Kelechi Iheanacho signed as a free agent earlier this month, and it was the former Leicester City striker who stepped up to slam the match-winning penalty past Maksymilian Stryjek.
It was almost the last kick of the game at Rugby Park, and a rather contentious one as the Hoops remained top of the Scottish Premiership table despite Hearts‘ win over Rangers.
Credit: Manh Tung, Breaking Media
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What made the incident all the more frustrating is that Beaton initially pointed for a corner kick before VAR interfered, and Hackett fears that the referee did not have the courage to go against his colleagues.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former referee said: “When we look at the second penalty call, where the penalty kick decides the outcome of the match, the ball deflected from a short distance onto the arm of the player.
“The arm is slightly raised; there’s no question about that.
Going to the screen, the referee has to have a lot of courage to go against their colleague. I would have expected a referee of John Beaton’s calibre to say, ‘Go away.
I’m not awarding the penalty kick.’”