Hearts wrongly denied penalty against Motherwell, says SFA panel
The league leaders were aggrieved not to be awarded the spot-kick in the 66th minute of the 1-1 draw on Saturday
news.stv.tvHere’s the latest on Hearts and a penalty error issue flagged by the Scottish FA in the current context.
Direct answer
- A Scottish FA panel (KMI) concluded that Hearts were wrongly denied a penalty against Motherwell in a recent Premiership clash, with the incident ruled as a penalty should have been awarded after VAR involvement. This was reported in mid-May 2026 and tied to ongoing VAR scrutiny in Scotland.[1]
Context and what it means
- The KMI panel reviews match incidents after games and can overturn on-field decisions or urge further action. In this case, the panel’s majority stated the on-field decision not to award a penalty was incorrect and that the referee should have awarded a penalty following VAR review.[1]
- This development occurred as Hearts were in a title race scenario with Celtic and amid broader debates about VAR and refereeing in the Scottish Premiership. The timing placed it on the week leading up to a potentially decisive matchday.[1]
Public reaction and related items
- Coverage has highlighted the ongoing tension around VAR decisions in Scotland, including other controversial incidents and independent reviews around penalties and penalties-related decisions in different matches.[5][1]
- Scottish media and fan outlets have discussed similar KMI-panel findings in earlier seasons and against various clubs, contributing to a pattern of scrutiny over VAR governance in the league.[4][5]
If you want, I can pull the exact passages from the KMI panel report or summarize the key arguments the panel used to justify awarding a penalty in this case. I can also provide a brief timeline of the most recent VAR-related decisions affecting Hearts, including any subsequent official statements or club responses.