{"id":544,"date":"2026-05-16T14:06:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T14:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/?p=544"},"modified":"2026-05-16T14:06:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T14:06:22","slug":"mcinnes-fumes-after-late-var-drama-kept-celtics-title-hopes-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/16\/mcinnes-fumes-after-late-var-drama-kept-celtics-title-hopes-alive\/","title":{"rendered":"McInnes Fumes After Late VAR Drama Kept Celtic&#8217;s Title Hopes Alive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Hearts head coach Derek McInnes did not hold back following a highly controversial VAR decision that denied his side the chance to secure the Scottish Premiership title. While Hearts cruised to a 3-0 victory over Falkirk, their celebrations were cut short by dramatic events unfolding simultaneously at Fir Park.<br>\u200bLocked in a 2-2 draw deep into stoppage time against Motherwell, Celtic were awarded a 99th-minute penalty after referee John Beaton was called to the VAR monitor for a handball against Sam Nicholson. Replays strongly suggested the ball struck Nicholson\u2019s head rather than his hand. Kelechi Iheanacho converted the spot-kick to secure a 3-2 victory for the Hoops, sparking widespread fury.<br>\u200bHad Celtic dropped points, Hearts would have effectively secured their first top-flight crown since 1960. Instead, the gap is closed to just one point.<br>\u200bAn incandescent McInnes branded the refereeing decision &#8220;disgusting,&#8221; stating:<br>\u200b&#8221;When you heard Celtic had a 96th-minute penalty going to VAR, you just assume they get it\u2026 It feels like us against everybody.&#8221;<br>\u200bThe explosive post-match interview has taken social media by storm, perfectly setting the stage for a winner-takes-all title showdown between the two teams at Parkhead this weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hearts head coach Derek McInnes did not hold back following a highly controversial VAR decision that denied his&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[23,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-544","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"tag-celtic","8":"tag-rangers"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":545,"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544\/revisions\/545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}