Teen charged after referee's personal information shared online

A teenager has been charged after personal information of a Scottish referee was shared online.

John Beaton and his family were placed under police surveillance at their home, and his children needed protection at school, after the details were posted on Thursday.

A 19-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with a data protection offence.

He is due to appear at Hamilton Sheriff Court at a later date.

The Scottish FA has called for “tolerance and perspective to prevent any further, unthinkable escalation” following the incident.

A scathing statement released on Friday afternoon described “vigilantism” as a consequence of “hysterical media narrative, fuelled by irresponsible knee-jerk post-match media interviews, commentary and official social media posts”.

Beaton has come under fire for awarding a late penalty, which was converted, and resulted in Celtic’s 3-2 win against Motherwell on Wednesday.

The win left Celtic just one point behind leaders Hearts.

The Scottish FA said it “condemns in the strongest possible terms attempts to compromise the safety of match officials”.

A statement added: “Such vigilantism, motivated by decisions perceived to be right or wrong on a field of play, is a scourge on our national game and we are grateful to Police Scotland for their swift intervention.

“We are also clear, sadly, that this is the inevitable consequence of the heightening criticism, intolerance and scapegoating demonstrated this season by media pundits, supporters, official supporters’ groups, clubs, players, managers and former match officials.

“Referees are not infallible. Mistakes will be made on the field, and subjective calls made in front of the VAR monitor, just as managers will pick the wrong team, goalkeepers concede soft goals and strikers miss from five yards out. Yet the reaction to these inevitabilities could not be more contrasting.

“What happened yesterday is not an isolated incident. There are many examples of match officials being placed in harmful situations but with individuals fearful of speaking out lest it exacerbates the situation or causes further alarm to friends, family and colleagues.

“We will not allow this to become the norm. We will not allow a situation where match officials require special provision to protect their children at school to be considered an occupational hazard. We will not allow a situation where staying at home with the front door locked and avoiding the hazards of public interaction becomes a coping strategy.”