O'Neill Says Hearts Assault Claims Not Proved — Pitch Invasion
Martin O'Neill says allegations that Hearts players were assaulted during Saturday's pitch invasion at Celtic Park have not been proved. Police Scotland are looking at whether any criminality was involved, leaving the fallout from Celtic's title win in a far more serious lane than a routine discipline case.
O'Neill said the pictures Celtic reviewed showed no sign of the alleged assault. He also said apologies would be due if proof emerges, but added: “If he [Bloom] has seen that there or the police have seen that, then certainly apologies are due but that is not being seen at his minute.”
Celtic Park and Hearts
The dispute sharpened after Tony Bloom said on Wednesday that Hearts players were assaulted by Celtic fans as they ran on the pitch to celebrate clinching the Scottish Premiership title. Bloom said: “The Hearts players were in danger and one or two got assaulted.”
He also said: “It is completely unacceptable behaviour and the authorities will be looking at it.” Hearts players were confronted by some fans after Callum Osmand scored to make it 3-1 in the 98th minute, and Celtic apologised to Hearts earlier this week after they were forced to make a quick exit from the stadium while still in their kit.
Callum Osmand and Don Robertson
Hearts said on Wednesday that highly irresponsible comments made publicly this week appeared to seek to defend those who entered the pitch on Saturday and undermine the gravity of the situation. The club also said referee Don Robertson signalled for full-time despite there appearing to be 30 seconds left of the eight minutes of stoppage time when the ball crossed the line.
That leaves the football authorities with two separate threads to weigh: the safety complaint around the pitch invasion itself and Hearts' objection to how the match ended. Hearts have already written to the SPFL and Scottish FA expressing concern that a troubling precedent has been set whereby a pitch invasion can effectively determine the duration of a match.
Police Scotland inquiry
For now, the live issue is the police review of whether the pitch invasion crossed into criminality. O'Neill's position is that the assault allegation has not been proved; Bloom's is that the Hearts players were in danger. The answer to that gap will shape whether this is treated only as a flashpoint after a title celebration or as something the authorities move on more forcefully.
