John Beaton has explained how he was awarded the Betfred Cup Final- he’s turned full time and is now wholly dependent on football to earn a living.
By any standards Beaton has had a poor season but by taking charge of Sunday’s Aberdeen v Celtic match he is effectively being noted as the best referee of the season to date.
A fortnight ago he was in the spotlight after failing to award Motherwell a goal away to Dundee when the home keeper carried the ball over his own goal line.
Scott McDonald and Mark McGhee were outspoken in their criticism of that incident which fortunately for Beaton was witnessed by only one camera.
Had it been a televised match, for instance a cup final at Hampden, he’d have a reputation as low as Steven McLean for the 2015 Scottish Cup semi-final between Celtic and Inverness Caley Thistle.
Explaining his appointment in an interview with The Sun which naturally doesn’t touch on the ghost goal Beaton said: “I was taking away that stability of a full-time job, pension, holidays, sick pay. That financial security to pay the mortgage.
“My wife still maybe doesn’t quite agree with it. I had tremendous belief everything would be alright. I’m a very optimistic guy.
“If you work hard enough, set yourself challenges and know what you need to do to make a success then you’ll do it.
“She was the first I phoned after being told I was doing this final. Her reply was “is that good?”
“I explained it was a big deal and I think it’s sinking in now. Her dad knows what it means and she’s seen the reaction it’s got.
“Laura probably won’t go to the cup final but my dad Allan and uncle Johnny — who I was named after go everywhere.
“Laura will probably catch a bit on TV. She supports me, she just doesn’t have to sit through the 90 minutes to do it.”
Beaton appears to be from the Hugh Dallas mould where the match revolves around the referee with the players having a supporting role to the ref.
In Celtic’s first SPFL match of the season Beaton awarded Hearts a penalty, without consulting his assistant, when Jamie Walker dived in the penalty box.
At some point during the match Beaton admitted to Brendan Rodgers that he had made a mistake, Walker scored the penalty and got a retrospective three match ban.
If Beaton had applied the laws of the game Walker would have been booked for diving with no penalty- and goal- given to Hearts.
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