Hamilton Accies were the victims of two outrageous refereeing decisions in their 6-0 Scottish Cup defeat at Ibrox today.
The scoreline barely matters after two incredible decisions by John Beaton that changed the entire complexion of the match.
Midway through the first half Wes Foderingham came out of his box to collect a through ball, under pressure from Rakish Bingham he started to back track and fell to the ground to collect the ball with his hands.
Outside the 18 yard line and inside the D it was an every day decision for the Main Stand side assistant and Beaton to take.
No free kick or red card was issued.
WATCH@acciesfc Player/Manager Mark Canning disappointed after huge defeat to @RangersFC #ScottishCup https://t.co/CHjT9YRbYp
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) March 4, 2017
Ten minutes into the second half substitute Joe Garner took a full blooded swipe at Dougie Imrie connecting with his opponents hip.
Garner laughed at his opponents misfortune, on Sky Sports Andy Walker described it as ‘the most blatant red card you will ever see’. After taking his time, Beaton, who had a clear view of the incident and consulted his assistant, produced a yellow card.
Beaton is on the elite FIFA list and assured of big match appointments regardless of his performances.
Earlier this season he awarded Hearts a penalty when Jamie Walker dived without contact from Kieran Tierney, Walker was given a two match retrospective suspension.
In October Mark McGhee was angered by a phantom goal that Beaton missed in a 2-0 defeat from Dundee.
Beaton became a full time referee at the start of the season and was took charge of the Betfred Cup Final between Celtic and Aberdeen.
Beaton’s assistants today were Alastair Mather and Andy Milne.