Hearts Jambos denied penalty by Steven McLean in 1-1 draw
Hearts Jambos were wrongly denied a penalty against Motherwell in Saturday’s 1-1 draw after the SFA’s Key Match Incident panel ruled the 66th-minute decision should have gone the other way. Steven McLean stuck with no penalty even after VAR sent him to the monitor, and the ruling now sits alongside a title race that reaches its last match.
Kyziridis in the box
Alexandros Kyziridis went down in the box under a challenge from Tawanda Maswanhise while trying to go short to receive a corner. McLean was asked by VAR to take a second look, then upheld his original call and booked Kyziridis and Derek McInnes for their protests. The panel later ruled that the on-field decision was incorrect and said McLean should have awarded a penalty.
McLean stays with no penalty
The majority view on the panel matters because it leaves a written record that the game turned on an officiating error, not just a hard-to-see split-second call. For Hearts, that is the only practical remedy available now: the result stands, but the decision does not.
The incident also lands in the middle of broader Scottish Premiership VAR scrutiny, with the title picture still tight. Hearts and Celtic are vying to win the title on Saturday, which keeps every disciplinary call and every review under heavier weight than usual.
Celtic derby ruling
The same panel also ruled on Celtic’s Alistair Johnston after a foul on Rangers midfielder Mikey Moore in the Old Firm derby, finding that he had not committed a red card offence. Nick Walsh booked Johnston, and the player later said, “As a defender now, you have to be so smart with every tackle you put in.”
Johnston also said, “Was I a little bit lucky? Yeah, probably. Was I intending to injure him? No.” His added explanation — “I was just trying to put a hard tackle in as every single fan on both sides of that rivalry would want their defenders to do.” — shows how quickly one challenge can turn into a weekend of scrutiny when the stakes are this high.
Hearts leave Saturday with a ruling that backs their complaint, but not the points they felt they should have had. The practical result is simple: the bad call is on the record, and the title chase now moves into a final day where the margins are likely to be judged just as closely as the football.
