{"id":1822,"date":"2026-05-16T19:31:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T19:31:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/?p=1822"},"modified":"2026-05-16T19:31:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T19:31:04","slug":"an-embarrassment-to-scottish-football-hearts-issue-strong-statement-on-shameful-scenes-at-celtic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/?p=1822","title":{"rendered":"\u2018An embarrassment to Scottish football\u2019: Hearts issue strong statement on \u2018shameful\u2019 scenes at Celtic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"main\">\n<div class=\"hydrate-root sc-1ihz57b-0\" data-component=\"Newsletter\" data-loading=\"lazy\" data-theme-name=\"independent\">\n<div data-theme-wrapper=\"independent\" style=\"display:contents\">\n<aside class=\"sc-y4bm30-0 jwWhkK newsletter-component sc-1ge0fwe-0\" data-newsletter-key=\"receiveInsideSportNews\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-2 kcLSBk\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/static-assets\/images\/newsletters\/InsideSport1_1.png\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Inside Sport\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE\"\/><\/div>\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-1 inRDZn\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-3\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-4 hfveGa\">\n<p><h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-6 fvoxRM cLEJmn\">Inside Sport newsletter: Get an expert guide to the biggest moments shaping the world of sport<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-8 fvoxRM iTZFOX\">Get our free Inside Sport newsletter<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-7 fvoxRM iGYpOF\">Get our free Inside Sport newsletter<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"sc-eaj12q-0 hKcUSR sc-culv3z-0 eifaJK sc-1ix0cah-0 PYnPb sc-y4bm30-10 fUEDPX\"><use href=\"#600f53465147d717\"\/><\/svg><\/div>\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-2 kcLSBk sc-y4bm30-9 iQYNfz\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/static-assets\/images\/newsletters\/InsideSport1_1.png\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Inside Sport\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/heart-of-midlothian\">Hearts<\/a> have said the behaviour of some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/celtic-fc\">Celtic<\/a> fans \u201cembarrassed Scottish football\u201d amid what the club described as \u201cdisturbing\u201d reports of \u201cserious physical and verbal abuse towards players and stuff\u201d in the aftermath of Saturday\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/scottish-premiership\">Scottish Premiership<\/a> title decider. <\/p>\n<p>In a strong statement, Hearts condemned the \u201cshameful scenes\u201d at Celtic Park after hundreds of celebrating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/sport\/football\/celtic-vs-hearts-scottish-premiership-title-result-final-score-b2977888.html\" title=\"Hearts broken as Celtic snatch glory but Scotland\u2019s thrilling season ends in disgrace\">supporters invaded pitch following Callum Osmand\u2019s title-sealing goal<\/a>, with some goading and confronting Hearts players after the visitors missed out on their first league title since 1960. <\/p>\n<p>Hearts said the pitch invasion caused \u201ca chaotic end\u201d to the match and added that \u201cnobody seemed to know whether or not the match had been brought to a finish\u201d. With one minute still to be played and the score at 3-1, the Hearts players were brought off the pitch for their safety following Osmand\u2019s goal and the subsequent pitch invasion, but the match was not resumed. <\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-awdjp1-2 cbpRGD sc-awdjp1-3 image align-center\">\n<figure class=\"sc-1cbdeug-0 cXcwgU\">\n<div data-gallery-length=\"4\" class=\"sc-awdjp1-0 Gjafu\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/16\/20\/2026-05-16T135659Z_1058752765_UP1EM5G12QXLZ_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-SCOTLAND-CEL-HEA.JPG\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/16\/20\/2026-05-16T135659Z_1058752765_UP1EM5G12QXLZ_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-SCOTLAND-CEL-HEA.JPG?quality=75&amp;width=320&amp;auto=webp 320w, https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/16\/20\/2026-05-16T135659Z_1058752765_UP1EM5G12QXLZ_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-SCOTLAND-CEL-HEA.JPG?quality=75&amp;width=640&amp;auto=webp 640w\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"sc-1cbdeug-1 sc-1cbdeug-3 YlsWU hgzWpY\"><span class=\"sc-1cbdeug-7 gjqsiM\">(<!-- -->Reuters<!-- -->)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Hearts team then left Celtic Park within 10 minutes of full-time due to what the club called a \u201cmenacing and threatening atmosphere\u201d, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/sport\/football\/hearts-celtic-scottish-premiership-title-tynecastle-fans-return-b2977958.html\" title=\"Hearts players left in tears at Tynecastle return after crushing Celtic loss in title decider\">later returning to an emotional welcome at Tynecastle <\/a>as some players broke down in tears. <\/p>\n<p>In response, Hearts said they expect \u201cexpect the strongest action possible\u201d from the Scottish Football Association and Scottish Professional Football League, while they confirmed they are in dialogue with Police Scotland.<\/p>\n<p>The Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland had to be escorted off the pitch by police amid reports that the Scotland international was involved in a physical altercation with a Celtic supporter. The Celtic manager Martin O\u2019Neill, meanwhile, said it would be \u201cpretty serious\u201d if Hearts players had been \u201caccosted\u201d on the pitch amid the home team\u2019s celebrations. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHeart of Midlothian utterly condemns the shameful scenes at Celtic Park this afternoon which have, once again, embarrassed Scottish football,\u201d a club statement said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cReports 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGiven 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe 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 \u2013 sensational to a person \u2013 for their backing this afternoon and all season long.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-awdjp1-2 cbpRGD sc-awdjp1-3 image align-center\">\n<figure class=\"sc-1cbdeug-0 cXcwgU\">\n<div data-gallery-length=\"4\" class=\"sc-awdjp1-0 knQHAe\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/16\/19\/58858903a06f78f35c01b41290374893Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzc5MDQxODI5-2.84639521.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/16\/19\/58858903a06f78f35c01b41290374893Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzc5MDQxODI5-2.84639521.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=320&amp;auto=webp 320w, https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/16\/19\/58858903a06f78f35c01b41290374893Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzc5MDQxODI5-2.84639521.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=640&amp;auto=webp 640w\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Fans streamed on to the pitch before full-time\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"sc-1cbdeug-1 sc-1cbdeug-3 YlsWU hgzWpY\">Fans streamed on to the pitch before full-time<span class=\"sc-1cbdeug-7 gjqsiM\"> <!-- -->(<!-- -->PA Wire<!-- -->)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis season has seen Hearts capture the imagination of football fans, not only in Scotland, but the world over. We pay tribute to Derek McInnes, his staff, the first team and the supporters, who have done the club proud this season. None of them deserved the disgraceful scenes that unfolded.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Earlier, Celtic boss Martin O\u2019Neill had said: \u201cIf some Hearts players have been accosted, then that\u2019s just not right at all.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-awdjp1-2 cbpRGD sc-awdjp1-3 image align-center\">\n<figure class=\"sc-1cbdeug-0 cXcwgU\">\n<div data-gallery-length=\"4\" class=\"sc-awdjp1-0 bAQGDX\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/16\/18\/01KRRT2K6J5BX4JEEHY953ATTT.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/16\/18\/01KRRT2K6J5BX4JEEHY953ATTT.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=320&amp;auto=webp 320w, https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/16\/18\/01KRRT2K6J5BX4JEEHY953ATTT.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=640&amp;auto=webp 640w\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Shankland and the Hearts players returned to Tynecastle, where they were greeted by their supporters\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"sc-1cbdeug-1 sc-1cbdeug-3 YlsWU hgzWpY\">Shankland and the Hearts players returned to Tynecastle, where they were greeted by their supporters<span class=\"sc-1cbdeug-7 gjqsiM\"> <!-- -->(<!-- -->PA<!-- -->)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI genuinely didn\u2019t see the scenes at the end because I thought the game wasn\u2019t over, so I\u2019m trying to push some of our fans off the pitch again to play whatever\u2019s left.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cObviously, at 3-1, I think that the fourth official had said to me, there was like a minute to go when we scored the goal, so with the best will in the world, they\u2019re not going to get two goals in that time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cObviously, there\u2019s a lot of commotion in the tunnel, so I don\u2019t know, but getting back to the point, if Hearts players have been accosted by some of our fans, that\u2019s pretty serious. Honestly, I\u2019m not pushing it to the side, it\u2019ll be something that the officials or people will have to look at.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-awdjp1-2 cbpRGD sc-awdjp1-3 image align-center\">\n<figure class=\"sc-1cbdeug-0 cXcwgU\">\n<div data-gallery-length=\"4\" class=\"sc-awdjp1-0 fANMgd\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/16\/20\/01KRRZ4AGCPM9P3B28422FFXRW.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/16\/20\/01KRRZ4AGCPM9P3B28422FFXRW.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=320&amp;auto=webp 320w, https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/16\/20\/01KRRZ4AGCPM9P3B28422FFXRW.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=640&amp;auto=webp 640w\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"sc-1cbdeug-1 sc-1cbdeug-3 YlsWU hgzWpY\"><span class=\"sc-1cbdeug-7 gjqsiM\">(<!-- -->PA<!-- -->)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Meanwhile, the behaviour of some Celtic fans towards Hearts players has been described as \u201cunacceptable\u201d by former Scotland international James McFadden.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI understand spilling over, onto the pitch, with emotion, you back off, but this is unacceptable to me, going up to players. I get emotions running high, players should be safe on the football pitch. You do not want to see that,\u201d McFadden said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Inside Sport newsletter: Get an expert guide to the biggest moments shaping the world of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-16-at-20-06-13.png",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-16-at-20-06-13-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-16-at-20-06-13-300x200.png",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-16-at-20-06-13-768x512.png",640,427,true],"large":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-16-at-20-06-13-1024x683.png",640,427,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-16-at-20-06-13.png",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-16-at-20-06-13.png",1200,800,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-16-at-20-06-13-1115x715.png",1115,715,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-16-at-20-06-13-800x500.png",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-16-at-20-06-13-1024x683.png",1024,683,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-16-at-20-06-13-540x340.png",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/betreview.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-16-at-20-06-13-400x250.png",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/betreview.net\/?cat=6\" rel=\"category\">Sports<\/a>","tag_info":"Sports","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}