(Credit: Imago)

Evan Shaw

Thu 14 May 2026 7:00, UK

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Hearts boss Derek McInnes pulled no punches with his reaction to Celtic’s stoppage-time penalty in his interview after his team beat Falkirk 3-0.

The Jambos looked to have taken a huge step towards securing the Scottish Premiership title, only for Celtic to convert a dubious spot-kick deep into added time to put themselves back within a point of the leaders.

Hearts travel to face the Bhoys on Saturday afternoon, and they know that they must take at least a point at Parkhead if they are to get their hands on the trophy on the final day.

McInnes’ men tasted bitter disappointment as Celtic’s winner unfolded, and their boss was adamant that it should not have been given.

Celtic need to beat Hearts on Saturday afternoon, and McInnes’ words may have just provided all the motivation that they need ahead of a pivotal final day.

Derek McInnes silly with ‘disgusting’ penalty accusation

McInnes’ men were on course to lift the league title at one stage on Wednesday evening, with Celtic trailing Motherwell for large parts of the first half.

However, their late penalty totally changed the complexion of Hearts’ final-day mission, as Celtic went from needing to win by three goals to any form of victory suddenly becoming enough.

McInnes was evidently seething with John Beaton’s call to award a penalty kick to the Bhoys, as he labelled the decision as “disgusting” during his post-match interview.

The 54-year-old continued to labour the point throughout his thoughts, as he suggested that his team are “up against everybody,” and also noted that it felt as though Celtic had been “given” the penalty in soft fashion.

His frustration was understandable, but he could yet live to regret the angry way that he put his point across, as he has essentially done O’Neill’s team talk for him ahead of Sunday.

A manager of O’Neill’s experience is sure to lean on the words of his opposite number and use them as fuel for his players to inflict further misery on their rivals this weekend.

McInnes always wears his heart on his sleeve in his role as Hearts’ chief, but a boss who is more experienced in title-chasing situations would likely have handled his interview in a much calmer fashion.

Ex-Hearts star labels John Beaton call a ‘disgrace’

Ex-Hearts star Ryan Stevenson was fuming with Celtic’s penalty, as he made his frustration clear while speaking on BBC Sportsound.

The former Jambos forward labelled the decision from Beaton “a disgrace” and questioned why he didn’t spend more time watching replays of the incident on the pitch-side monitor.

Stevenson suggested that Beaton was at the monitor for little more than 20 seconds, and also pointed out that last weekend’s incident in the West Ham vs Arsenal game in the Premier League required several minutes for a decision to be reached.

That feeling has been shared by many influential figures in Scottish football, with Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou and pundit Kris Boyd also making it clear that they couldn’t understand the decision.