Don Robertson Says Celtic-Hearts Match Finished After Audio Review — Sfa
sfa released audio from Saturday’s Celtic vs Hearts title decider at Parkhead showing Don Robertson saying the match was finished after the minimum eight minutes of added time. That release settles the central question from the night’s chaos: the referee did not restart play after Callum Osmand’s late goal and the pitch invasion that followed.
Don Robertson at Parkhead
Robertson’s words were direct. “Confirming the match is finished,” he said after the sequence that ended with Osmand’s clinching goal arriving with around 30 seconds left in the minimum eight minutes. The audio also included the message, “Hearts are happy to finish, Don. Derek McInnes has told me he’s happy to finish. He wants his players off the pitch.”
That left the match in one state only. Robertson did not restart the action after hundreds of Celtic fans streamed onto the pitch, while Hearts fans were ushered off to safety by stewards. The immediate aftermath turned on whether the game had been called off early or brought to a lawful end after the added time had expired.
Hearts’ Sunday complaint
Hearts moved quickly after the game. On Sunday, the club said it felt the match had been ended prematurely, setting up the review that followed on Monday at Hearts’ request. Gary Booth, William Collum and Martin Atkinson examined the audio-visual footage, with Calum Paterson attending the meeting.
The Scottish FA then published the relevant footage “in the interests of transparency,” adding: “While it was the agreed intention for this meeting to be conducted privately, recent statements have compelled us to consider the public interest in providing clarification and chronology.” The governing body also said, “In the interests of transparency, we are happy to set out the facts.”
SPFL position after the goal
SPFL bosses had already said the match was ended and not abandoned, which made the audio release more than a technical footnote. It drew a line through the argument over whether the late goal, the pitch invasion and the referee’s final words left room for a restart.
For Hearts, the review now leaves the club with the official audio showing the referee stating the game was finished. For Celtic, the title-decider result stands with Osmand’s goal arriving inside the minimum eight minutes and Robertson not sending the teams back out after the crowd came on. The record now sits with the published audio and the chronology around it.
