Heart of Midlothian has condemned what it called “shameful” scenes at Celtic Park and confirmed it is investigating reports of serious physical and verbal abuse towards players and staff, the report says. The club added it is in dialogue with Police Scotland over the incidents that followed Celtic clinching the Scottish Premiership title.
According to the report, the trouble began after Callum Osmand scored to make it 3-1 deep into stoppage time, when thousands of supporters ran on to the playing surface despite the full-time whistle not having been sounded. Several supporters confronted Hearts players as fans spilled onto the pitch, and some players appeared to have been hurt.
The report says club officials escorted players down the tunnel amid concerns for their safety, and the match did not restart as it neared the end of the indicated eight minutes of added time. With Celtic’s players and supporters remaining in the ground to lift the trophy, the Hearts team bus departed Parkhead within 20 minutes of the final whistle with players still in their match kits, and the side did not complete its post-match media duties.
In a statement, the Edinburgh club described the events as deeply disturbing and said the scenes had embarrassed Scottish football. The club said it would make no further comment while investigations continue and said it expected the football authorities to take the strongest possible action to protect the safety of players and supporters and the integrity of the game.
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill was quoted in the report saying he did not see much of the end because he believed the game was not over and that he had tried to get some fans off the pitch so play could continue. O’Neill said that if Hearts players had been accosted by supporters, that would be very serious and an issue for officials to examine.
The report notes that information from ESPN’s Rob Dawson contributed to coverage of the incident. Hearts said it is investigating fully and remains in discussions with Police Scotland as inquiries proceed, per the report.
