Derek McInnes Appeal Hearing Set Before Rangers Old Firm Cup Tie

Rangers manager Derek McInnes will have his appeal against a four-match touchline ban heard on August 31, BBC Sport reported on Monday. One match of the punishment is suspended, leaving McInnes at risk of watching three September fixtures from the stands if the appeal does not alter the sanction.

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The penalty was issued in July and stems from comments McInnes made while managing Hearts last season. He criticised the decision to award Celtic a stoppage-time handball penalty against Motherwell on May 13. Kelechi Iheanacho converted the kick as Celtic won 3-2 at Fir Park.

That result kept Celtic one point behind Hearts before the clubs met in the season's final-day title decider, which Celtic won. Speaking after Hearts beat Falkirk on the same evening as the Motherwell match, McInnes called the penalty decision disgusting and said he did not believe a spot kick should have been awarded.

Rangers announced that they would challenge the ban after McInnes took charge at Ibrox. The club's position is that his criticism addressed the specific decision and was not a wider attack on match officials. McInnes has also said that he did not intend to target anyone personally and believes managers must be able to answer questions about contentious incidents.

Scottish FA head of referees Willie Collum later supported the original penalty call. According to the BBC report, Collum said the evidence showed Sam Nicholson's hand and arm in an unnatural position and that the contact met the threshold for punishable handball. The referee involved, John Beaton, subsequently had personal contact information posted online, and police monitored his home. A teenager was later charged in connection with a data-protection offence.

The timing of the hearing places three matches in focus. Rangers visit Falkirk in the Scottish Premiership on September 2, host Motherwell in the league on September 5 and welcome Celtic for a League Cup quarter-final on September 13. Whether McInnes can take his place on the touchline for those games remains subject to the appeal outcome.