Scottish FA release Celtic v Hearts audio which confirms how the game was ended
Governing body issued a statement from Hampden Park
The Scottish Football Association have released the audio in an effort to prove how Saturday’s Premiership title decider between Celtic and Hearts was ended. A pitch invasion at the end of Celtic’s 3-1 victory saw Hearts players ushered off the field by stewards, and they left Celtic Park immediately under police escort.
Callum Osmand scored the hosts’ third goal on 97 minutes after eight minutes of stoppage time had been allocated. The SFA today published audio which states Derek McInnes, the Hearts head coach, was content to finish the match at that stage - because he was concerned for his players’ safety with fans streaming onto the field. Referee Don Robertson is then heard confirming that the game is over.
The audio includes the line: “Hearts are happy to finish, Don. Derek McInnes has told me he’s happy to finish. He wants his players off the pitch.” No final whistle is heard but Robertson replies: “Confirming the match is finished.”
Hearts wrote to the SFA and the Scottish Professional Football League this week seeking answers on the events in Glasgow’s east end. They were unhappy at how the game finished as thousands of Celtic fans poured onto the pitch, some of whom antagonised and accosted Hearts players. The visitors left the ground and immediately returned to Edinburgh. They remain aggrieved at how they were treated on the day despite Celtic publishing a public apology.
The Scottish FA issued a statement in an attempt to clarify that McInnes had no complaints about bringing the game to an end once Celtic scored their third goal and the pitch invasion began. The statement read: “We note the contents of Heart of Midlothian's statement yesterday and accompanying letter signed by the club Chair, Calum Paterson. In the interests of transparency, we are happy to set out the facts.
“Regarding references to a 'premature ending of the match', the Scottish FA's Chief Governance Officer, Gary Booth, the Head of Refereeing, William Collum, and VAR Manager Martin Atkinson reviewed the audio-visual footage of the period in question on Monday at the club's request, with Mr Paterson in attendance.
“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. To that end, we are happy to publish the relevant audio-visual footage.
“It was made clear at that meeting that the match official, Don Robertson, took the correct action in ending the game. We note there has been speculation regarding the blowing of a final whistle. The Laws of the Game require the referee to signal the end of the match, but do not prescribe the method of that signal.
“In the context of what unfolded – which is verified by the footage and the Match Incident Report submitted to the Scottish FA – the match official clearly communicated that the match was ended and not abandoned.
“In addition, the match clock does not stop when a goal is scored. The footage shows that when the match official confirms the game has ended, the clock is at 53.07 [98.07], more than the minimum additional time of eight minutes signalled. It was also apparent from the audio that this decision was taken following dialogue with the Hearts Head Coach, who had intimated concerns over player safety.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Law 5 of the IFAB Laws of the Game state that 'the decisions of the referee regarding facts connected with play are final'. We fully support the decisive action taken by Don Robertson and his team to end the game.”