(Credit: Imago)

Evan Shaw

Sun 10 May 2026 11:00, UK

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Hearts missed a chance to pile pressure on Celtic in the race for the Scottish Premiership title, as they drew 1-1 away at Motherwell on Saturday night.

Stephen Kingsley’s 25th-minute own goal left the Jambos with a mountain to climb yet again, but captain Lawrence Shankland hauled them with his 15th league goal of the campaign just before half-time.

The visitors thought they had found a route towards another comeback victory in the 67th minute, when Alexandros Kyziridis appeared to be tripped inside the box by Tawanda Maswanhise.

However, Hearts were not awarded a penalty kick for the incident, much to the frustration of manager Derek McInnes, who didn’t hold back during his post-match interview.

The capital club now face a crucial final two games against Falkirk and Hearts, but it is possible that their boss will find himself in hot water with the SFA after his comments.

Derek McInnes blasts Steven McLean for refereeing display

Hearts appeared to have strong grounds for their appeals for a spot-kick, as Kyziridis sucked Maswanhise into a silly challenge following a short corner.

The winger arrived at the ball first and appeared to have his back leg taken away by his marker, but referee Steven McLean waved away their initial appeals.

The man in the middle was then called to the pitchside monitor following a VAR review, but still upheld his initial view of the incident after consulting several replays.

McInnes wasted no time in making his frustrations known after the game, as he ripped into McLean and labelled it as a “terrible decision.”

“At the time I thought it was a penalty, Greg Aitken has done his job well to bring the referee over, because he should bring him over and it should be a penalty,” the Hearts boss said in his interview.

“The referee had a poor game tonight. We can all have poor nights, but he was poor throughout, and he got the biggest decision of all wrong. It’s so important that he gets that right.

“It was a terrible decision, he had a bad night, and I’m not here to batter him, but he should be seeing that as we all are that it’s a penalty kick.”

McInnes’ strong words are sure to spark a reaction from the SFA, and it is certainly not out of the question that he could even face a ban, as the governing body are always keen to try to protect their officials in situations like these.

Jeff Stelling jumps to defend Hearts

Hearts’ draw against Motherwell has left the door open for Celtic to take advantage in the coming weeks, as the Bhoys could go one point behind the leaders with victory in Sunday’s Old Firm derby.

Journalist Callum McFadden was quick to take to X after the game to point out that the league title is now in Celtic’s hands, due to the Jambos having to head to Celtic Park on the final day.

However, Jeff Stelling quickly jumped to the defence of McInnes’ men, as he replied to note that the title race is “Not in Celtic’s hands any more than Hearts’ hands.”

The former Sky Sports news presenter is clearly quietly hoping that Hearts can get over the line and get the job done, a view which is shared by many across the UK’s footballing landscape.