Referee's personal details leaked after controversial penalty decision

Corey Davies, 19, accessed the personal information when the referee's wife brought her car in for repairs at the Park’s of Hamilton garage where he worked.

Following this, Beaton and his wife Laura received numerous calls from unknown numbers.

Beaton was placed under police surveillance due to concerns for his safety after he awarded a late penalty to Celtic in their 3-2 victory over Motherwell on May 13.

The decision came in the final moments of injury time with the score at 2-2.

Beaton was alerted by VAR to an incident in the penalty area and, after reviewing TV footage, awarded a penalty for handball against Motherwell defender Sam Nicholson.

Kelechi Iheanacho scored to secure a crucial three points for Celtic.

Police were notified when it was discovered that Beaton's details had been shared on social media.

Davies, from Carluke, Lanarkshire, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court today (Wednesday) and pleaded guilty to breaching the Data Protection Act 2018 by disclosing personal details without consent.

Cameron Murdoch, prosecuting, stated that Beaton was watching his son play football the night after the contentious match when he received a call.

Mr Murdoch informed the court: "He answered, believing it to be a work call, and heard a voice saying 'Hello. Is this John Beaton?'.

"Further calls were received and, due to the number of them, Mr Beaton believed his phone number had been leaked.

"He then received communication from the SFA stating that a Park's director had been made aware that someone in the business had leaked Mr Beaton's personal information.

"Numerous 'No ID' phone calls were received by Mr Beaton. He and his wife continued to receive calls and voicemails throughout the night.

"They began the process of changing their numbers." Park's management discovered that Davies had taken a photograph of Laura Beaton's job card, which contained the family's address, mobile phone numbers, and her car registration number.

Defence lawyer Michael Poggi explained that Davies shared the photo with three friends on Snapchat, and one of them further disseminated it.

Mr Poggi noted that the first offender has ADHD and described his actions as "spontaneous and ill-judged but not malicious".

The solicitor added: "He apologises to the complainers for the distress they obviously had. His actions were foolish and cost him his job but, given his otherwise good professional reputation, he has been able to secure alternative employment." Sheriff John Hamilton KC fined Davies £666 and imposed a victim surcharge of £40.

He told the accused that he had acted in an "immature and stupid" manner but recognised his lack of previous offences and early guilty plea.

The sheriff remarked: "Someone older than you would have been more able to foresee the consequences of doing this. This should be a message to you that there is a responsibility when you have such information." The SFA condemned the online leak as an attempt to "compromise the safety" of the referee.

In a statement, it said: "Such vigilantism, motivated by decisions perceived to be right or wrong on a field of play, is a scourge on our national game. 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.

"Those who have sought to apportion blame and conspiracy towards match officials to deflect from defeats or perceived injustices throughout the season have contributed to an environment that puts the safety of our staff and match officials in jeopardy. This is the consequence of a hysterical media narrative, fuelled by irresponsible knee-jerk post-match media interviews, commentary and official social media posts.

"The cumulative effect impacts on our ability to provide enough referees to service our game at all levels. 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."

Source: GlasgowWorld