Exclusive: John Beaton ‘let down by VAR’ over Hibs vs Hearts derby controversy
Hibernian should have been awarded a penalty during their Edinburgh derby win over Hearts, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA officially exclusively told Football Insider referee John Beaton needed help from VAR after Nicky Cadden went down inside the box under Gerald Taylor’s challenge.
Hibernian continued their push for a European place with a 2-1 victory over their local rivals at Easter Road on Sunday (2 March).
However, things could have been even more comfortable for them had a penalty call gone the way Hackett felt it should have done early in the second half of that game.
Nicky Cadden denied Edinburgh derby penalty
It was a controversial weekend in Scotland, with Celtic having survived a penalty scare in their win over St Mirren the day before.
In this clash at Easter Road meanwhile, Hibernian felt they should have been given a penalty after a challenge on Cadden.
With the score locked at 1-1, the wing-back broke into the Hearts area, before going down under a challenge from Taylor.
Referee Beaton waved away appeals for a spot kick from the home side, and although replays showed there was contract on Cadden, VAR did not intervene to overturn that decision.
| Scottish Premiership position | Played | Points |
| 3. Hibernian | 29 | 43 |
| 4. Aberdeen | 29 | 42 |
| 5. Dundee United | 29 | 41 |
| 6. Motherwell | 29 | 37 |
Hibernian had been fortunate in midweek when Dundee United had a goal overturned, which had allowed David Gray’s side to go on to claim another win.
On this occasion though, Hackett believes it was Hibs who were on the wrong end of a key decision, suggesting VAR should have given Beaton the chance to review the decision from more than one angle.
Keith Hackett reacts to Hibernian penalty appeal
Speaking to Football Insider about the decision not to award a penalty for the challenge on Cadden, the former referee said:
“John Beaton was in a great position but he was looking down it, I genuinely think that there’s contact, so I think they have cause if you like for disappointment that a penalty wasn’t given.
“If referee’s like John Beaton here isn’t that certain, then that means that he’s probably figuring that the player’s gone down as an act of simulation, so why didn’t he caution him.
“I think that in fairness the VAR has let him down on this one. It’s a tight call, I know he’s seen it very positively from a great position, but when you see it from another angle there’s just the slightest of touches that says ‘that could have been a penalty kick’.”
Jack Iredale’s stunning strike with just over quarter of an hour of normal time remaining would nonetheless secure a derby day win for the hosts.
Both of these sides are in Scottish Cup quarter final action next week, with Hearts hosting Dundee on Friday (7 March) and Hibernian taking on Celtic on Sunday (9 March).