Willie Collum’s appointment for next Sunday’s Celtic v Sevco semi-final has created most headlines but putting John Beaton in charge of the Hibs v Aberdeen match seems baffling.
If Beaton is the second best referee in Scotland it must be humiliating for every other referee in the country.
In his last three matches he has issued six yellow and two red cards in one game and no cards in the two matches either side of it. Was Ross County v Dundee really much rowdier than Partick Thistle v Motherwell?
The biggest blot on Beaton’s record this year was his performance in the Sevco v Hamilton Scottish Cup tie, a game that almost angered the mild mannered Martin Canning.
Beaton failed to consult his assistant when all the evidence pointed to at best a borderline handball involving Wesley Fotheringham with the score at 0-0.
The softest of penalties was then awarded to the home team before the biggest controversy of all when Joey Garner kicked out at Dougie Imrie’s hip.
It seemed the most obvious red card of the season, Beaton booked the striker.
In the opening Premier League match of the season Jamie Walker earned an incredible penalty against Celtic, again Beaton decided to bypass his assistant. Walker was given a two match suspension for simulation.
On the fifth of November he missed Motherwell’s ghost goal away to Dundee, by the end of the month he was in charge of the Betfred Cup Final between Celtic and Aberdeen.
If there is any controversy in the Hibs v Aberdeen semi-final there is little point blaming the referee, instead any anger should be directed at the boardrooms that seem to allow the refereeing department of the SFA act without any form of accountability.
