The lost opportunity- how one man could have halted the glittering career of John Beaton

As Celtic head to Ibrox today there is little doubt that one of the biggest obstacles that they face will be the performance of John Beaton.

The statistics from matches involving the man from the Crown Bar in Bellshill are overwhelming, stretching back to Albion Rovers visiting Ibrox in 2014 through to Celtic’s defeat at Tynecastle last month when he was on VAR duty for his friend Don Robertson.

Beaton hasn’t refereed a Glasgow Derby since 2 January 2023 when he was a Celtic red card away from a full house on Beaton Bingo.

After Ryan Kent equalised Daizen Maeda’s opener for Celtic Ibrox was bouncing in hatred as they pushed to go into the lead, when Fashion Sakala dived into Carl Starfelt there wasn’t a moment of hesitation as the man from Bellshill pointed to the penalty spot with James Tavernier scoring from his favourite distance.

At the other end of the park Beaton looked the other way when Connor Goldson used both hands to deflect a shot from Starfelt, Willie Collum, on VAR duty knew the consequences of requesting a VAR review of the incident.

Fortunately Kyogo Furuhashi equalised in the 88th minute, five days later Ange Postecoglou criticised Scottish referees for the only time in his career.

That performance from Beaton was fairly mild in comparison to December 2018 when Alfredo Morelos escaped even a yellow card for an afternoon of carnage highlighted by assaults on Scott Brown, Ryan Christie and Tony Ralston.

Brendan Rodgers has lost one Glasgow Derby, that was the day with Beaton in charge.

After a week of criticism of the Bellshill based referee Celtic reluctantly dusted down their Disappointed Statement Template, Peter Lawwell was reportedly in a foul mood when the following message appeared on the club website:

Celtic Football Club is surprised that there will be no disciplinary action taken by the Scottish FA regarding the incidents during the match on December 29, which have been widely addressed in the media. 

It is reported that no action was taken because the match referee saw all of the incidents in question. 

Given that the referee took no action at the time, this tends to suggest that such conduct, which in one instance led to a Celtic player, Anthony Ralston, being injured, is acceptable in Scottish football. That cannot be right.

On the day, Celtic did not play well enough to win the match, something we accept. However, this issue goes beyond the result of the match.

Celtic is not the only club this season to raise concerns regarding the standard of officiating at matches in Scotland, concerns which have also been shared by many commentators on the game.

In order to fully understand what is going on, Celtic, our supporters, Scottish clubs and the general Scottish football public need transparency in these matters, and we therefore call on the Scottish FA to allow the referee, John Beaton, to explain these decisions publicly as well as any match officials involved in other similar circumstances.

In the meantime, we have requested a meeting with Scottish FA Chief Executive, Ian Maxwell, and the Association’s Head of Refereeing.

And that was it, not another word was published on the matter, Lawwell provided no follow up confirming that the statement was simply a deflection tactic to give the impression that the club was concerned.

At the AGM in November 2019 I asked Lawwell about the appointment of Rod Petrie as President of the SFA, I asked if anyone at Celtic had been involved in the Five Way Agreement of 2012 and asked for an update on that statement about Beaton.

His reply was typically half hearted, mainly contempt but with a little discomfort at someone who doesn’t hang on his every word as some big hitter, the most powerful man in Scottish football and a big noise in the corridors of UEFA.

Tea and biscuits were shared at Hampden, the events of 10am on Friday 27 July 2012 were recalled as Beaton’s career went from strength to strength.

In 2020 and 2023 Crawford Allan rewarded the Bellshill based referee with his appointment for the final of the Scottish Cup. Beaton knows what is expected today.

John Beaton penalty awards 2018-19 to present:

Rangers:
Received 10
Conceded 1
(the famous one that stopped ‘The 75 game Streak’ in December 2023)

Celtic:
Received 5
Conceded 3

He’s some man. https://t.co/nIuvo6koqd

— Lint (@Zeshankenzo) April 2, 2024