Hearts have condemned the “menacing and threatening atmosphere” at Celtic during Saturday’s title-deciding match which the club says has “embarrassed Scottish football”.
The Edinburgh club highlighted reports of “serious physical and verbal abuse towards our players and staff” in their 3-1 loss at Celtic Park and the “shameful scenes” which marked the end of the game.
There were still 40 seconds left of stoppage time when Callum Osmand scored Celtic’s third goal in the 97th minute — along with stoppages that happened within the minimum added time of eight minutes — when thousands of Celtic fans broke onto the pitch.
Hearts players subsequently were ushered off the field of play, but several appeared to be confronted by Celtic fans who had entered into the area.
Hearts and the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) were informed the game was formally ended following a pitch invasion by the home side’s fans.
There had been a lack of clarity on whether referee Don Robertson had blown the full-time whistle to signal the official ending of the match, with failing to do so opening the possibility of a match postponement and the game not formally being concluded.
Hearts players did not re-enter the pitch, with it taking several minutes for the fans to be cleared from the playing areas.
Both Hearts and the SPFL have been informed that the officials had formally concluded the game following the incident.
Hearts players were forced to leave the pitch following hundreds of fans entering the field of play (Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images)
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) laws of the game state that the referee has the power to stop, suspend or abandon a game because of outside interference, such as spectator behaviour. The laws also state that an abandoned match is replayed unless the competition rules or organisers determine otherwise.
IFAB’s rules also saw that the result of the match is the decision of the referee, and must be considered as the final decision.
There were similar scenes after Celtic’s late winner at Motherwell on Wednesday and after the Scottish Cup quarter-final victory over Old Firm rivals Rangers when both sets of fans entered the field after the penalty shoot-out.
A similar scenario unfolded in Czech Republic earlier this month when fans of Slavia Prague, leading 3-2 against their city rivals and title challengers Sparta Prague, ran onto the pitch while the game was still ongoing in the late stages of stoppage time, to celebrate the title win.
Sparta were awarded a 3-0 victory and Slavia were banned from having home fans for four matches. It only delayed Slavia’s title crowning by a week, however, as they have an unassailable lead of seven points over Sparta with two games remaining.
The Edinburgh club had been on course to win the league for the first time since 1960 going into the final-day fixture at Celtic, where a draw would have secured the title, but the home side scored twice in the closing stages to win 3-1 and secure their 13th title in 14 seasons.
Having led the league for 226 days, the final day defeat to Celtic saw Hearts lose out on the title by two points.
Hearts were aggrieved at two officiating decisions that left them needing to avoid defeat at Celtic Park to become champions.
Manager Derek McInnes says that head of refereeing Willie Collum accepted they should have been awarded a penalty in the 1-1 draw with Motherwell last weekend and called the stoppage-time penalty that saw Celtic beat Motherwell 3-2 in midweek “disgusting”.
What did Hearts say?
“Heart of Midlothian utterly condemns the shameful scenes at Celtic Park this afternoon which have, once again, embarrassed Scottish football,” read a club statement on Saturday evening.
“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.
Club statement: Events at Celtic Park
🔗 https://t.co/cnToHBofbr pic.twitter.com/85sfxkAN4U
— Heart of Midlothian FC (@JamTarts) May 16, 2026
“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.”
Ugly end to a landmark occasion
Analysis by Michael Walker
This will be remembered as the most dramatic Scottish season in two generations due to Hearts’ unforeseen and inspiring challenge for a first league title since 1960. Hearts would have been the first non-Glasgow champions since 1985. It will unfortunately now also be recalled for an ugly pitch invasion after Celtic’s third goal in the eighth minute of added time.
With four minutes of the season left, drawing 1-1, Hearts were almost there. But then Daizen Maeda scored a Celtic second and a VAR review confirmed the goal.
With Hearts forced to throw everyone into attack, Celtic’s breakaway third sparked thousands into running onto the pitch where some confronted Hearts’ players. There was jubilation but also aggression. Hearts’ captain Lawrence Shankland was a target but all the Hearts players were still on the pitch as stewards struggled to clear them.
Supporters invaded the pitch as Celtic scored their third (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
If there was a final whistle, it went unheard. It quickly became clear the contest was over and Hearts players and staff left the pitch and dugout as Celtic celebrated amid the chaos. Shortly after, the Hearts team bus was escorted away from the stadium with the players on it unchanged. There were no post-match interviews from the Edinburgh club.
There is sure to be an inquiry into scenes that will leave a sour taste across Scotland, though not at Celtic Park. They were presented with a fifth league trophy in a row. Under Martin O’Neill’s assured leadership, Celtic won the last seven games to clinch it, but such details are likely to be lost in the forthcoming debate about the pitch invasion.