The Hearts squad made a swift exit from Celtic Park after their Scottish Premiership title decider devolved into absolute chaos. A pitch invasion erupted after Callum Osmand scored on the counter in the 98th minute, securing a 3-1 victory for Celtic and clinching their fifth consecutive league title. Hearts goalkeeper Michael Steinwender had pushed forward for a corner in a desperate hunt for a vital equalizer, as the visitors required just a draw to claim their first championship since 1960. Instead, Osmand sprinted the entire length of the pitch to find the net, triggering an immediate surge of jubilant fans onto the Parkhead turf.
According to Sky Sports, some Hearts players were allegedly assaulted on the pitch during the melee, while manager Derek McInnes faced verbal abuse from opposing supporters. The Edinburgh side was filmed departing the stadium on the team bus while still wearing their full match kits. It was a devastating end for Hearts, who had taken a 1-0 lead in Glasgow courtesy of a Lawrence Shankland goal in the 43rd minute.
The loss capped off a heartbreaking conclusion to a season that Hearts had dominated. Since the start of October, the Jambos had spent 226 days at the top of the table. In contrast, Celtic spent just a single day at the summit, which happened to be the final day of the season after defeating their rivals to claim the 56th title in club history. Earlier in the match, an Arne Engels penalty in first-half stoppage time had canceled out Shankland’s opener, before Daizen Maeda put the hosts ahead in the 87th minute.
Heartbreak and Reaction
The late goals from Maeda and Osmand ensured Celtic finished two points clear at the top. Watching the Hearts team bus make its hasty departure, the club’s all-time top goalscorer, John Robertson, shared his thoughts on Sky Sports:
“They’ve shot off early and that’s it, they’ll be back off to Tynecastle. When they reflect on the season they’ve had, it’s been successful. Those players have done everything, that manager has done everything and the fans have done everything to get over the line but they’ve not managed it. What a season they’ve had. Right now that’s no consolation to them, they’ll be absolutely sick, they’ll be absolutely gutted. There’ll be no consolation of what they’ve done despite what other people say. They’ll be absolutely devastated.”
Sky Sports host Eilidh Barbour also commented on the unsettling security situation:
“They have left in their full kit, they didn’t get changed and you can understand. But also, the scenes at the end where supporters came on the pitch, we are hearing reports that there were some assaults towards Hearts players. That is something that we do not want to see from supporters on the pitch at any time in football. It’s football at the end of the day.”A Chaotic Conclusion
Referee Don Robertson initially ushered the players off the pitch when the invasion began. The sudden stoppage caused widespread confusion, as many expected the match to resume for the final seconds following Osmand’s 98th-minute goal. However, the whistle was never blown to restart, allowing the home crowd to fully dive into their title celebrations.
Pundit James McFadden did not hold back in his assessment of the crowd behavior:
“You can hear the reaction from the majority of the Celtic fans in here with the fans on the pitch, the booing. You don’t want to see it. It’s a game of football, you have got two teams that have earned the right to go toe-to-toe on a day like this, and the winner emerges with the trophy. Hearts have played their part by a huge stretch, and you don’t want to see overspill of fans. I understand the emotion of the occasion, you have a right to celebrate but you can’t cross the line.
“If that is right that Hearts players have been assaulted that is absolutely unacceptable. It will take a lot of time for Hearts to get over this, but when they can they have to take a step back. They have pushed Celtic all the way and they were so close. It’s a credit to the players and to Derek McInnes. I understand spilling over on to the pitch with the emotion but this is unacceptable to me, going over to the players. I get emotions run high but the players should be safe on the football pitch. There should be no threat to safety. There will always be people that spoil it for everyone else. The majority of the fans booed those on the pitch. But that is unacceptable and should never happen.”Even amidst the wild celebrations, triumphant Celtic caretaker manager Martin O’Neill offered immense praise for the runners-up:
“It would be easy for me to be patronising and sycophantic but Hearts have been magnificent. They are the big story of this season. They have been terrific and they deserve all the credit. Derek McInnes deserves manager of the year, he has been brilliant and Hearts have been brilliant.”