John Beaton is NOT Celtic bogeyman declares Brendan Rodgers as he names what ref spat is really about

Brendan Rodgers admits he’s not sorry for calling out John Beaton - but insists it was not part of some simmering personal feud with the under fire official.

Rodgers faces an SFA rap and a possible Old Firm derby day ban for accusing Beaton and ref Don Robertson of ‘incompetence’ during a controversial defeat at Tynecastle on Sunday. The Parkhead manager went out of his way during a series of post match interviews to name Beaton as the man in charge of the VAR technology - and appeared to blame him for the decision to red card Hyung-jun Yang and award Hearts with a penalty late in the first half.

That led former Celtic boss Neil Lennon to suggest Rodgers has a legacy issue with Beaton stretching back to his first stint in the hot seat - when Beaton needed police protection after taking charge of a heated Old Firm derby at Ibrox in January 2019. And it has been compared with an attempt by Rangers to demonise Willie Collum within a section of their support by demanding that the top whistler is no longer allowed to officiate any of their side’s matches.

But Rodgers insists he doesn’t view Beaton as Celtic’s bogeyman. He said: “That shouldn’t be the case and I’m not saying that - I’m talking about one game here. I’m talking about the game at the weekend. I’m not talking about legacy issues or any other games.

“John’s refereed games that he’s been really good in. So I don’t have an issue with that. I’m talking about that one game and that was my view of that game. It’s not about anything else. Let’s focus on the football and on making good decisions.”

But Rodgers insists he does not regret calling Beaton out by name. He said: “No. No, we’re all accountable. Everyone knows he was in the VAR. So it’s not a secret - I haven’t