Just hours after the final-day Scottish Premiership title decider, Hearts have released a statement condemning the pitch invasion during their match against Celtic.
The game itself was intense. The Jambos took the lead with 43 minutes on the clock through Lawrence Shankland, but just before half-time, Arne Engels converted from the spot to level the scoring.
Things remained that way until the 87th minute, when Callum Osmand cut the ball across the box for Daizen Maeda, who struck home. Osmand then turned goalscorer as he secured victory for the Celts beyond any doubt, ensuring that the trophy would remain at Parkhead.
However, when Osmand found the net, Celtic fans encroached on the pitch with one minute left to play. The occasion was drawn to a close as the Hearts players retreated, and now, the visitors have released a hard-hitting statement via the club website.
Heart of Midlothian utterly condemns the shameful scenes at Celtic Park this afternoon which have, once again, embarrassed Scottish football.
Reports of serious physical and verbal abuse towards our players and staff, both on the pitch and elsewhere, are deeply disturbing. We are investigating this fully and are in dialogue with Police Scotland. We will make no further comment at this time other than to say that it is completely unacceptable that our players and staff were put in that situation.
Given the menacing and threatening atmosphere inside the stadium, our entire staff had no alternative but to leave immediately, without undertaking post-match media duties. To our media partners, we apologise but the safety of our staff was our prime focus during these unacceptable scenes.
The pitch invasion caused a chaotic end and nobody seemed to know whether or not the match had been brought to a finish.
Our players were then denied the opportunity to thank our magnificent fans – sensational to a person – for their backing this afternoon and all season long.
We expect the strongest action possible to be taken by the footballing authorities in the interests of protecting the safety of players and supporters, and the integrity of our game.
A social media analysis carried out by SportSource concluded that there is no publicly available evidence of Hearts players or staff members being attacked by Celtic fans. Should proof of the claimed assaults become available, we will immediately update this post.
Footage has turned up of a Jambos captain, Shankland, getting heavy-handed with an encroaching Hoops supporter.
Disappointing scenes at Celtic Park
It was disappointing scenes at Celtic Park as the referee had to blow the full-time whistle when the Hearts players left the pitch. It would have been difficult for play to resume, and with the result already secure for the Celts, it was a justified decision by Don Robertson. He confirmed to the SPFL after the match that he had blown the whistle and that the match had not been forfeited.
Sadly, this isn’t the first time that we have seen fans encroaching on a pitch in Scotland this season. There was a small pitch invasion when Kelechi Iheanacho found the net in the 97th minute against Motherwell, and Rangers fans attacked encroaching Celtic fans at Ibrox after Martin O’Neill’s side knocked them out of the Scottish Cup.
Next season, we need to see less of this. It hurts the beautiful game, and we need to move forward. It is easy to understand that fans can get excited, but there is no room for this type of thing. It puts staff, players and other fans at risk.
Hearts’ statement is seen by some as a step in the right direction; however, with no publicly available evidence to back up their claims, we don’t know if anything will come of it. They are expecting action to be taken, so hopefully, we will be able to view footage for ourselves soon.
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