JOHN BEATON will be in charge of Celtic’s crucial Premiership encounter with Motherwell at Parkhead on Saturday afternoon.
The referee will be assisted by Graeme Stewart and Calum Spence on the wings while Kevin Clancy will be at the VAR controls.
The appointment of Beaton comes just under a fortnight after he was put in control of the derby confrontation at Ibrox which ended 2-2 after the champions had trailed 2-0 at the interval.
The whistler missed a major flashpoint late in the game when a header from Daizen Maeda was handled by Dujon Sterling and diverted onto the chest of keeper Jack Butland. The ball bounced clear and play had to be suspended after Steven McLean, on VAR duty, flagged up the incident.
YOU NEED HANDS…Dujon Sterling handles Daizen Maeda’s header onto Jack Butland.
SPOT ON…John Beaton awards Celtic the penalty-kick much to Nico Raskin’s annoyance.
OOPS…John Beaton watches as Reo Hatate takes the spot-kick.
WHOOPS…Reo Hatate follows up after Jack Butland’s double save to squeeze in Celtic’s equaliser with team-mate Daizen Maeda around just to make sure.
Beaton scrutinised the moment on the touchline screens before returning to the pitch to point to the spot.
Reo Hatate managed to get the ball behind Butland at the third time of asking for the Hoops’ equaliser.
Saturday’s match in the east end of Glasgow will be Martin O’Neill’s side’s first home game in a gruelling five-match sequence.
The head-to-head confrontation with Well, who inflicted one of Wilfried Nancy’s six defeats during his wretched 33-day stay at the Hoops, gives the hosts the opportunity to close the gap on Hearts to two points.
A win will lift Scotland’s title kings, searching for their fourteenth crown in 15 years, onto 61 points with eight games to play.
The Tynecastle outfit, on 63 points, play Kilmarnock at Rugby Park at 8pm later on that day.
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