Speaking through a statement issued by the Scottish Football Association, Beaton described the tense aftermath of the decision that has intensified the Scottish title race ahead of the final day of the season.

The controversy erupted deep into stoppage time when Beaton, after consulting VAR, ruled that Motherwell defender Sam Nicholson had handled the ball inside the penalty area, despite the absence of immediate appeals from Celtic players.

Nigeria international Kelechi Iheanacho calmly converted the resulting penalty to hand Celtic a crucial 3-2 victory, leaving only one point between the champions and league leaders Heart of Midlothian before Saturday’s decisive clash at Celtic Park.

However, the fallout from the decision quickly escalated beyond football.

“John Beaton and his family spent Thursday night at home under police surveillance following a leak of personal details online,” the Scottish FA disclosed, condemning what it described as “attempts to compromise the safety of match officials.”

Police Scotland confirmed that a 19-year-old man had been arrested and charged in connection with a data protection offence linked to the publication of personal information relating to the referee. The suspect is expected to appear before Hamilton Sheriff Court at a later date.

The Scottish FA defended Beaton and match officials generally, warning that referees were increasingly becoming targets of abuse over subjective decisions made during matches.

“Referees are not infallible. Mistakes will be made on the field, and subjective calls made in front of the VAR monitor,” the association stated.

The governing body also blamed what it called a “hysterical media narrative” fuelled by emotional post-match interviews, commentary and social media reactions for placing Beaton and his family in danger.

The incident has reignited debate in Scottish football over the treatment and safety of referees, especially in high-stakes matches involving title contenders.

Celtic and Heart of Midlothian will now meet in a potentially title-deciding encounter on Saturday, with tensions already heightened by the controversy surrounding Beaton’s late penalty call.

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The violence flared in the capital on Thursday evening, after fans of Tripoli’s Al-Ittihad football club took to the streets to protest a referee’s decision denying them a penalty kick in a match against Misrata’s Swehly club.

The match was played at Tarhouna’s city stadium, about 65 km (40 miles) southeast of Tripoli. A ​Reuters journalist who watched the match said it was stopped in the ⁠87th minute after Al-Ittihad protested the decision.

Al-ittihad fans at the match stormed the pitch, sparking ​a riot that damaged property and injured stadium guards, the journalist said.

Pictures on social media showed ​guards with wounds on their heads, legs and hands being rushed to a hospital in Tarhouna.

In Tripoli, according to two eyewitnesses, Al-ittihad fans who had been watching the match at their club’s complex marched towards ​the GNU building and set off fireworks “to express their anger”, causing the building’s facade to ​catch fire.

“The situation was very chaotic, with thick smoke rising into the sky, and cars in the area ‌were ⁠trying to leave before things got worse because the fans were very angry,” one of the eyewitnesses said.

Video footage posted on the internet and from Istanbul-based Libya Al-Ahrar TV channel showed flames engulfing the glass facade of the GNU building and thick plumes of black smoke billowing into ​the sky.

There was no ​immediate response by the ⁠GNU to a Reuters request for a comment. The situation calmed down around midnight as GNU forces deployed around the building and firefighters ​brought the fire under control.

Al-Ittihad, in a statement on its verified ​Facebook page, ⁠demanded “a comprehensive review of all refereeing decisions during the match”. Swehly said in a short statement on Facebook that its team was heading back to Misrata “crowned with victory”.

The internationally recognised GNU is headed ⁠by ​Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who came to power in 2021 ​in a U.N.-brokered process.

Libya has had little stability since a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 ousted longtime autocrat Muammar Gaddafi.

-Reuters

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With Hearts beating Falkirk 3-0 at ​home and Celtic being held after Motherwell’s Liam Gordon scored an 85th-minute equaliser at Fir Park, a first title in ‌66 years was within touching distance for the Edinburgh club.

Had it stayed like that, Celtic would have needed to beat Hearts by a three-goal margin at home on Saturday.

But deep in stoppage time, Motherwell’s Sam Nicholson headed away a ball into the area but was adjudged by referee John Beaton, after a VAR check and his ​viewing a pitch-side monitor, to have brushed the ball with his raised hand despite no Celtic player appealing for it.

Under enormous pressure, ​Iheanacho stayed ice cool to slot his kick past keeper Calum Ward to spark a pitch invasion by ⁠delirious Celtic fans and take an epic title race to a climax on Saturday, where Hearts will need a draw to become the first ​team other than Celtic or Rangers to be champions since 1985.

While Celtic manager Martin O’Neill praised his side’s never-say-die spirit, Hearts manager Derek McInnes, having ​watched the video of Celtic’s penalty, struggled to contain his anger.

“It’s disgusting. We’re up against everybody. I don’t think it’s a penalty,” he told Sky Sports. “It’s so poor, and it looks as though (Celtic) have been given it.

“They are very fortunate. It’s going to the last game. We’re delighted to be part of it. We’re going to ​have to go and get a positive result. What a game it’s going to be.”

Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou described the penalty decision as “shocking”. “I ​can’t see any paragraph in the rule book that can lead to that being a penalty,” he said.

Hearts have 80 points from 37 games with Celtic, who ‌have won ⁠six league games in a row, on 79.

GLUED TO THEIR PHONES

Goals by Frankie Kent, Cammy Devlin and Blair Spittal earned Hearts the points at Tynecastle, where fans were glued to their phones checking on events 40 miles away.

They cheered when news of Elliot Watt’s opening goal for Motherwell came through, and when Kent sent a bullet header into Falkirk’s net after 29 minutes, and Devlin made it 2-0 to Hearts with a deflected shot, the mood was ecstatic.

Some ​Hearts fans were even shedding tears ​of joy, although when Celtic ⁠equalised at Motherwell through Daizen Maeda, the mood was dampened slightly.

An eerie silence descended on Tynecastle for much of the second half after Benjamin Nygren’s stunning second goal for Celtic changed the dynamics.

All that mattered then was what was happening at ​Fir Park, where Motherwell were laying siege to the Celtic goal. Motherwell hit the crossbar with a ​deflected Elliot Watt strike ⁠, with Tawanda Maswanhise’s rebound saved by Viljami Sinisalo.

Gordon’s equaliser for Motherwell had the Hearts fans dancing again, but their joy turned to disbelief as events unfolded elsewhere that will raise the ghosts of the last time Hearts were so close to the title.

Forty years ago, Hearts arrived at the final day ⁠of the ​1985-86 season unbeaten in 27 league games, two points ahead of Celtic and requiring just ​a draw at Dundee to win the trophy.

Instead, Celtic fan Albert Kidd scored two late goals to give Dundee a 2-0 win at Dens Park, and Celtic romped to a 5-0 ​victory against St Mirren to snatch the title on goal difference and leave Hearts broken.

-Reuters

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The result confirmed the end of Ismaily’s long-standing stay in Egypt’s top division, as the three-time league champions finished bottom of the four-team relegation group with 19 points.

The relegation marks only the second time in the club’s history that they have dropped out of the top flight and the first since the 1957-58 season. Their earlier relegation came during the aftermath of the Suez Crisis, when the club lost several key players before eventually returning to the elite division.

Founded in 1924 in the north-eastern Egyptian city of Ismailia along the Suez Canal, Ismaily are regarded as one of Egypt’s oldest and most iconic clubs.

For Nigerian football followers, the club remains closely associated with Enyimba’s historic triumph in the 2003 CAF Champions League final — a landmark victory that made the Aba-based side the first Nigerian club to win Africa’s premier club competition.

Enyimba defeated Ismaily 2-1 on aggregate in the final, winning the return leg 2-1 in Cairo after the first leg in Aba ended goalless. The victory launched a golden era for the Nigerian club, which successfully defended the title in 2004.

Ismaily themselves hold an important place in African football history. The Egyptian side became the first club from Egypt to win Africa’s top club competition in 1969, when the tournament was known as the African Cup of Champions Clubs.

The club last won the Egyptian league title in the 2001-02 season and also boasts two Egypt Cup trophies.

However, financial difficulties in recent years have badly affected the once-famous club. Reports indicate that Ismaily even published their bank account details publicly at one stage in a bid to encourage supporters to contribute funds toward the club’s survival.

Meanwhile, Wadi Degla’s victory lifted them to 48 points and the top position in the relegation group, keeping alive their hopes of survival.

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The strike would have been ​ruled out under the standard International Football Association ​Board Laws of the Game, but stood under ⁠the CPL’s ongoing trial conducted in cooperation with FIFA.

The ​Canadian league is testing the rule this season as ​part of efforts to reduce marginal offside decisions and encourage attacking play.

Under the system, an attacker is only deemed offside if ​there is clear “daylight” between them and the second-last ​defender, rather than being penalised for narrowly being ahead.

The concept, long ‌advocated ⁠by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger in his role as FIFA’s head of global football development, is being assessed in Canada as a potential change to the ​offside law.

Diaz’s goal ​marked the ⁠first in-game application of the interpretation, which resulted directly in a goal, offering a ​glimpse of how the rule could alter ​attacking patterns ⁠and defensive positioning.

The CPL, which launched the trial earlier this month, has provided FIFA with a professional testing ⁠ground ​for the proposal as soccer’s world ​governing body evaluates whether to expand its use more broadly.

Reuters

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The Egypt international, who was on ⁠the bench for Tuesday’s game, ​was incensed after Al-Ahly’s appeal for ​a penalty following a handball in stoppage time was denied.

“He handed a four‑match ban ​and fined 50,000 Egyptian pounds ($942) ​for assaulting the referee by pushing or ‌pulling (use ⁠of the hand without violence),” the league said in a statement.

The ban means El-Shenawy, who is expected ​to be ​Egypt’s ⁠starting goalkeeper at the World Cup in North America, ​will be sidelined until ​the ⁠final week of the league play-offs.

Al-Ahly are third on 41 points, five ⁠points ​behind leaders Zamalek.

-Reuters

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The Super Lig giants confirmed that they have reached an agreement with Napoli for the temporary transfer of the 15-cap Netherlands international, with the deal including a non-mandatory purchase option that Galatasaray may activate at the end of the season.

Under the terms of the agreement, Galatasaray will pay €2 million as a loan fee to Napoli, while Lang will earn a seasonal salary of €1.75 million, according to a statement released by the club.

Lang joined Napoli last year from PSV Eindhoven but struggled to fully establish himself in Italy. He featured in 27 matches across all competitions, scoring once during his time with the Serie A side.

His arrival adds attacking depth to Galatasaray and further strengthens the Napoli connection at the club, with Osimhen already a central figure in their squad as they continue to push for domestic success and progress in European competition.

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Sudan has been in the grip of conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, with more than 150,000 people killed and about 12 million uprooted, creating the largest displacement crisis in the world.

People who fled when the conflict erupted have started to return this year after Sudan’s army retook the capital Khartoum, but the city’s two biggest clubs will continue their sporting exile with their old infrastructure badly damaged.

Last season Al Hilal and Al Merrikh were allowed to play in the league in Mauritania, on the other side of the continent, where they could stay active and keep up their club structures.

Now, along with Al Ahli Wad Madani, they have been given permission to join Rwanda’s league this season, the Rwanda Football Association said.

In July, Al Hilal and Al Merrikh, who between them have won all but four of the championships since Sudan’s league was created in 1965, were home for a mini-tournament to decide who would compete in continental competition in the 2025-26 season.

The eight-team tournament was hosted away from the conflict in Ad-Damer, some 430km from Khartoum, and Atbara, which is 320km north of the capital, with Al Hilal and Al Merrikh dominating again and Al Ahli Wad Madani finishing third.

But a normal league is not possible amid the continuing conflict, leading to the request to play in nearby Rwanda.

Al Hilal have secured a place in the group phase of this season’s African Champions League with a 4-1 aggregate win over Police of Kenya. They won the ‘home’ leg of their second-round tie 3-1 on Friday, which they hosted in Benghazi.

Libya has also served as the base for Sudan’s national team, who will compete at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco at the end of the year despite not playing at home since March 2023.

-Reuters

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In an official statement released on Friday, the club confirmed that the decision was approved by President Serdal Adalı and the Board of Directors, in line with a new approach to appoint captains who occupy more influential on-field positions.

As part of the changes, Orkun Kökçü has been named first captain, while Ndidi assumes the vice-captaincy role.

Beşiktaş also expressed appreciation to former captains Necip Uysal and Mert Günok for their service and leadership, wishing the new captains success in their responsibilities.

“We thank Necip Uysal and Mert Günok for their efforts during their time as captains and wish our new captains, Orkun Kökçü and Wilfred Ndidi, success in their respective roles,” the statement read.

Ndidi, who joined Beşiktaş earlier this season, has quickly established himself as a key figure in the team’s midfield. His elevation to a leadership position underscores the club’s confidence in his experience and influence both on and off the pitch.

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Mourinho, who left Turkey’s Fenerbahce last month, was appointed Benfica manager on Thursday, a day after Bruno Lage was sacked following their shock 3-2 Champions League defeat by Qarabag.

Heorhiy Sudakov opened the scoring for Benfica on the stroke of half-time, before Vangelis Pavlidis and Franjo Ivanovic sealed the three points on Saturday.

Despite the win, the former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United boss was quick to keep expectations in check.

“We worked for an hour and a half yesterday,” the 62-year-old told reporters.

“I thank the players for their professionalism, their passion for the club, but at the same time for the way they welcomed me, the way I felt they were embracing what we were working on, and that’s it.

“If we had lost, it would obviously have been a disaster in terms of points. Winning isn’t phenomenal, but it was the best thing we could do, they needed to win after losing two points and after a psychologically heavy defeat.

“I told them after the game, it was good, but it was nothing extraordinary, hurry up, tomorrow there’s training in the morning.”

Benfica are second in the Portuguese top-flight standings with 13 points from five matches.

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