McInnes punishment doesn't fit the crime - Halliday

The four-match ban handed out to Rangers boss Derek McInnes is disproportionate, according to the club's former midfielder Andy Halliday. McInnes described the decision to award Celtic a late penalty at Motherwell in May as "disgusting" while he was still in charge of Hearts. Celtic's 3-2 victory at Fir Park on 13 May kept them one point behind Hearts, who they beat to the title a few days later in a final-day decider. Rangers have contested the decision, saying the remarks were "directed at the decision, rather than representing any broader criticism of officials". "I don't think the punishment does fit the crime," Halliday told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast . "Thankfully, I wasn't mic'd up after the game when I saw the penalty incident back because it may have been a couple more than four games. "Listen, I think it's always a difficult one because players and managers in this country come under a whole load of criticism after a game. "I think you're allowed to criticise a referee's performance, but you certainly can't get personal, you can't insinuate anything. When I look at Denim McKinsey's comments, I don't think they went overboard enough to warrant a four-game ban. "Similar incidents - Callum McGregor's comments about the Austin Trusty red card at Celtic Park that resulted in no ban whatsoever. The season before when Brendan Rodgers commented on John Beaton's performance at Tynecastle where it resulted in a one game ban, a one game ban that allowed them to be in the dugout against Rangers in the second game. "So I wasn't surprised whatsoever to learn that Rangers have appealed the process and it'll be interesting to see how that goes."