{"id":589041,"date":"2026-05-17T13:48:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T13:48:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/589041\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T13:48:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T13:48:17","slug":"police-engaging-with-hearts-after-celtic-pitch-invasion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/589041\/","title":{"rendered":"Police \u2018engaging\u2019 with Hearts after Celtic pitch invasion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Police are liaising with Hearts to investigate whether any of their players were assaulted during a pitch invasion in Celtic\u2019s title-winning victory at Parkhead.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of Celtic fans ran on to the park when Callum Osmand netted in the eighth minute of stoppage-time to put Celtic 3-1 ahead.<\/p>\n

Hearts noted \u201cdeeply disturbing reports of serious physical and verbal abuse towards our players and staff, both on the pitch and elsewhere\u201d.<\/p>\n

In a statement issued late on Saturday night, Police Scotland said: \u201cWe are engaging with Heart of Midlothian FC to establish if any of their players were assaulted on the pitch at the conclusion of the event. The circumstances of the incident are being reviewed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The match did not restart despite having around 30 seconds left of the allotted stoppage-time when Osmand scored.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pitch invasion caused a chaotic end and nobody seemed to know whether or not the match had been brought to a finish,\u201d a Hearts statement added.<\/p>\n

Hearts players quickly left Celtic Park without getting changed due to what the Edinburgh club described as a \u201cmenacing and threatening atmosphere inside the stadium\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hearts condemned the \u201cshameful scenes\u201d, saying they had \u201cembarrassed Scottish football\u201d.<\/p>\n

\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,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n

Hearts were on course for their first title since 1960 right up until the 87th minute, when Daizen Maeda struck a goal that was initially ruled out for offside before a VAR check.<\/p>\n

The visitors had taken the lead in the 43rd minute when Lawrence Shankland headed home but Arne Engels levelled from the spot before the break after Alexandros Kyziridis was penalised for handball.<\/p>\n

Derek McInnes\u2019 side had led since September \u2013 barring a 24-hour period when Rangers went top \u2013 and the heart-breaking finale added to a history of league title challenges falling at the final hurdle.<\/p>\n

They lost a decider against Kilmarnock in 1965 when a 2-0 home defeat saw the Ayrshire side win on goal average, and were seven minutes away from glory in 1986 before Dundee sub Albert Kidd hit a double to hand the title to Celtic and end a 31-match unbeaten run.<\/p>\n

Thousands of fans gathered at Tynecastle to welcome the squad back and many players, including the likes of Cammy Devlin and Frankie Kent, were in tears as they disembarked from the bus.<\/p>\n

The club statement read: \u201cThis season has seen Hearts capture the imagination of football fans, not only in Scotland, but the world over.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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

Police are also investigating \u201cunacceptable levels of violence and anti-social behaviour\u201d in the Trongate area of Glasgow when about 3,000 fans gathered to celebrate Celtic\u2019s triumph despite appeals from the club not to congregate.<\/p>\n

Police said several officers were injured after being targeted by missiles including glass bottles.<\/p>\n

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