Let’s be blunt — the rules of the game aren’t optional. You can sympathise with the sentiment, you can think the referee got something wrong, but there’s a line about how comments are expressed. When someone crosses that line in public they get cited. That’s the simple bit.

Why the manner matters

To be fair, emotion runs high in games and managers say things in the heat of the moment. Trouble is, the governing bodies judge both content and tone. If a comment is framed in a way that implies bias or questions integrity, it’s treated differently to a measured critique. Everyone who makes that sort of outburst risks a citation, and normally some kind of sanction follows. You might not like the punishment, and it can seem harsh, but often it’s used to set a standard.

McInnes and the broader picture

It’s worth pointing out that others have said things that could be read as stronger claims of bias. McInnes, for example, has made a series of comments which some will see as more clearly pointing to unfairness. If the governing body deems them comparable, then similar action is a likely outcome. That isn’t me predicting specifics — just saying how the disciplinary process tends to operate.

VAR, angles and judgment calls

On the VAR side, we only ever see what broadcasters show. There are other angles available to officials and they sometimes reveal contact that isn’t obvious on the Sky clip. A head-on view can make the ball-to-hand connection clearer, and then it’s down to whether the hand is in a natural position. That’s a judgement call. People will have different views on the same picture. Still, the point is that what we see on telly isn’t always everything.

So yes, you can disagree and I won’t try to change your mind. But understanding the rules, how officials review incidents and why citations happen helps explain why punishments come down the way they do.

Written by Angus1812: 4 August 2026

Tags: squad