The Jambos were police escorted out of Parkhead by police after being ushered down the tunnel to safety
19:29, 19 May 2026Updated 21:11, 19 May 2026
Hearts stars board the team bus back to Gorgie
Gordon Dalziel reckons Hearts were always going to make a swift exit from Celtic Park if their title dreams went up in smoke.
The Jambos were ushered down the tunnel to safety after hundreds of Hoops fans invaded the pitch following Callum Osmand’s league-clinching goal deep into stoppage time on Saturday. Reports later emerged suggesting some Hearts players had been accosted amid the chaotic scenes.
In a blistering statement, Tynecastle chiefs cited “reports of serious physical and verbal abuse towards our players and staff, both on the pitch and elsewhere”, while calling for the “strongest action possible” from the football authorities.
The club also stated they were forced to leave without carrying out their media duties due to a “menacing and threatening atmosphere inside the stadium”.
Celtic later apologised over the unsavoury scenes and vowed to co-operate fully with Police Scotland’s investigation.
Derek McInnes and his troops were hastily escorted out of Parkhead by police, with players filmed departing on the team bus still in full kit. The capital club later returned to Gorgie, where thousands of supporters gathered outside Tynecastle to welcome them home.
Pundit Dalziel condemned the chaos that marred the dramatic Premiership finale. But the ex-Rangers and Raith Rovers striker insisted Hearts’ sharp departure from Glasgow’s east end would have been pre-planned regardless of the crowd trouble.
He told the Big Scottish Football podcast: “I may be 100 per cent wrong here, but it’s all about opinions. Hearts left Celtic Park. That was always going to be the plan.
“If Hearts won the trophy, fine. They are there. They are always going to be presented with the trophy.
“If Hearts lose the game, they were always on that team bus and they’re out. Especially the fact you’ve been top of the league all these months and weeks, and you lose it to Celtic at their home ground with 60,000 people and they are celebrating – you want out.
“You’re not hanging about. What happened before it is disgusting. I detest it. Why do people have to run on? Enjoy the moment. You’ve just won the league. Embrace your players, Martin O’Neill and your football club. It’s fantastic for you.
“Why do these morons have something in their head that they want to run on and have a go at guys like, say Shankland and stuff like that. It’s not on.
“And by the way, I would guarantee that 99 per cent of Celtic fans would agree with that. You’ve got a small group that just don’t know how to behave themselves. Just go and enjoy it.
“But, I’m not buying into people going, ‘Oh Hearts had to go on the team bus and leave because they are worried about their safety’.
“No they’re not. Rangers have been in there. Your safety is okay, nobody is getting in the dressing room. When you get on the team bus, the police escort you out anyway.
“Hearts did what Hearts were always going to do. See if they won? Go milk it, you deserve to have won the league.
Celtic fans invade the pitch(Image: Jamie Johnston/Focus Images Ltd/Shutterstock)
“See if you lose? Let’s get on the bus and we’re out of here as quickly as possible. We aren’t sitting listening to the dressing room next door and the commotion that’s going on around us.
“Let’s get out of here. That’s what Hearts did, and I don’t blame them because I think it was a great move and I’d have done the same myself.
“But that was pre-planned. You’re not telling me Hearts walked into the dressing room and went, ‘we’ve just lost the title, the fans are running on the pitch, quick – everybody get their gear.’ Who phones the bus driver?
“100 per cent that was always going to happen. [Concerned for their safety] on the pitch. Not when they go up the tunnel.
“And by the way, I do agree with it because I’d have done the same myself as a manager.
“Walking into Celtic Park, I’d have said to the bus driver, ‘listen, see if we lose today, have that bus sitting outside the front door.’
“And I’ve had said to the players, ‘If we win, we’ll celebrate and we’ll enjoy it. See if we lose, get your gear, get on the bus and we’re out. We’ll get changed at Tynecastle and go and do our own thing there.’
“And Hearts were 100 per cent right in doing that.”