Derek McInnes, the new Rangers manager, will begin the season from the stands after being handed a four-match ban for his comments about a controversial penalty awarded to Celtic last season. The Scottish Football Association announced the punishment on Wednesday, with one game of the suspension suspended until the end of the 2026-27 campaign.
McInnes, then in charge of Hearts, had described the VAR decision to award Celtic a stoppage-time spot-kick at Motherwell as "disgusting". That penalty, scored by Kelechi Iheanacho, proved crucial in the Scottish Premiership title race, ensuring Celtic needed only a victory on the final day to retain the trophy.
The SFA charged McInnes with breaching rule 72 of its disciplinary guidelines, which prohibits criticism of officials. A hearing at Hampden found the charge proven, resulting in the touchline ban.
Rangers open their league campaign away to Dundee United on Friday week, a match McInnes will miss, along with home fixtures against Hibernian and St Mirren.
Separately, former Motherwell midfielder Elliot Watt was also handed a four-game suspension for calling the same incident "the worst VAR decision in history" on social media. Watt, now at Samsunspor, was found to have breached the same rule.
