Don Robertson will referee Saturday’s William Hill Premiership showdown between defending champions Celtic and long-time, league pace-setters, Hearts, at Parkhead.
Confirmation comes only hours after Wednesday’s controversy at Fir Park when The Hoops were awarded a penalty deep in injury time against Motherwell by referee John Beaton.
Nigerian forward Kelechi Iheanacho slotted home to hand Martin O’Neill’s men a 3-2 victory and they now trail the Tynecastle team by one point going into the final game of the season. Hearts have a better goal difference.
The late penalty, however, has sparked headlines and comment from pundits and former international players from around the world and Derek McInnes, Hearts’ head coach, was highly-critical of the award after watching footage.
Robertson is undoubtedly in the hot seat at Celtic Park (kick-off 12.30) and a nationwide TV audience will be watching as the game on Sky Sports.
The 39-year-old whistler began refereeing in 2011 and has been a FIFA referee since 2017. Before he became a whistler, he was a youth goalkeeper with Partick Thistle, Queen’s Park and St Mirren.
Robertson will be backed up by Calum Spence and David Roome on the line with Kevin Clancey as VAR and Matthew MacDermid as the assistant VAR official.
Overall, Hearts require a draw or a win to secure their first league title for 66 years and they go into the game on the back of a 3-0 victory over sixth-placed Falkirk at Tynecastle in midweek.
The Tynecastle club’s head coach, who has also claimed they were denied two penalties at Motherwell on Saturday in a 1-1 draw, told reporters post-match v Falkirk: “The final showdown game is perfect for Scottish football, the drama, the excitement the spotlight on that, it could not be billed any better. We are looking forward to it.”
ACTION: Hearts v Celtic earlier this season. Picture Ian Jacobs
