Motherwell’s Elliot Watt banned over comments made after Celtic game

Motherwell midfielder Elliot Watt has received an immediate four-match suspension after admitting to charges related to post-match comments in the wake of May’s defeat by Celtic.

On X, Watt, 26, described the award of a late penalty as “the worst VAR decision in history”.

Kelechi Iheanacho converted after Sam Nicholson was ruled to have handled and the eventual Scottish Premiership winners secured a 3-2 win at Fir Park on 13 May.

Watt, who opened the scoring against Celtic, was charged with breaching the Scottish FA’s disciplinary rule 72, which says players should not “criticise” decisions made by officials or make comments that “impinge” on the character of a referee.

Motherwell were charged with the same breach and have been fined £5,000 for a post they made after the game, which read: “As the world of football mocks our game, we simply have to draw a line in the sand and shift the focus.”

SFA head of refereeing Willie Collum, in his regular review of key incidents, stated the award of the spot-kick was the correct decision.

Then-Hearts head coach Derek McInnes – whose team were pipped to the title on the final day – was also cited for calling the decision “disgusting”. His hearing takes place on 22 July.

In Motherwell’s final game of last season, a 1-0 Premiership win at Hibernian, Watt was sent off after receiving two bookings and is therefore set to be banned for five domestic games.

However, Watt will be available for Motherwell’s upcoming Conference League fixtures, with Alfred Johansson’s side facing Faroese side Havnar Boltfelag in the second qualifying round on 23 and 30 July.

The midfielder, who was voted into the Premiership’s PFA team of the year last season, has been the subject of reported transfer interest from the Turkish club Samsunspor.