John Beaton was the man in the middle for Rangers vs Celtic today, with the rather unenviable task of taking charge of the big derby.

Much was made about his appointment to this game by the Scottish FA, with hysteria surrounding the announcement.

After a fairly quiet first half, the game sparked into life in the second.

Here’s how we saw some of the major calls in the game…

Connor Goldson handball

Celtic were awarded a penalty after the ball struck Rangers defender Connor Goldson’s outstretched elbow inside the area just after the half-hour mark.

It was missed in real-time, but a VAR check was conducted fairly swiftly after the incident and Beaton was instructed to check it at his pitch-side monitor.

After watching a couple of slow-motion replays, the on-field official awarded the spot kick – a fairly easy call in all honesty given IFAB’s regulations on handball.

Verdict: Correct decision

Fabio Silva penalty

Initially, Beaton was quick off the mark to book the Portuguese attacker for diving. The on-loan Wolves player had come under scrutiny for going down easily, so it was little surprise to see him receive a booking.

However, Nick Walsh on VAR quickly intervened and reviewed the incident involving Alistair Johnston. The Canadian right-back certainly made contact with the forward inside the box, but the 21-year-old seemed to already be on his way to the ground.

So, the question is, was Beaton incorrect to overrule his initial decision for simulation against Silva? We think he should’ve stuck to his guns on this one, but it's right to recognise that this was debatable.

Verdict: Incorrect decision

Disallowed Rangers goal

Moments after the penalty was scored by James Tavernier, Rangers had the ball in the net again as Cyriel Dessers thought he’d equalised.

The stadium, full of home supporters, was totally elated – but this quickly disappeared when it was announced a VAR check was being conducted to potentially rule out the goal.

Tomoki Iwata was fouled by Tom Lawrence in the attacking phase of play in the build-up to the close-range strike.

So, Beaton got the call right to chop off the goal.

Verdict: Correct decision