Hearts say ‘shameful’ scenes at Celtic ‘embarrassed Scottish football’

Hearts blasted the ‘shameful, unacceptable’ scenes at Celtic which ‘embarrassed Scottish football’ as their Premiership title dream ended on Saturday. 

The Jambos lost the crucial away game 3-1 at Celtic Park after late goals from Daizen Maeda and Callum Osmand. 

Osmand’s third goal deep into stoppage time sparked a melee as home fans ran on to the pitch to celebrate. 

Some thugs confronted the Hearts players, forcing Lawrence Shankland to take action.

The match didn’t restart, and Hearts were ushered down the tunnel by club officials.

The Hearts players left the stadium while still in their match kits and didn’t carry out their post-game media duties. 

The club later released a strong statement, condemning the chaotic scenes at Parkhead. 

The statement read: “Heart of Midlothian utterly condemns the shameful scenes at Celtic Park this afternoon which have, once again, embarrassed Scottish football.

“Reports of serious physical and verbal abuse towards our players and staff, both on the pitch and elsewhere, are deeply disturbing. We are investigating this fully and are in dialogue with Police Scotland.”

Hearts entered the final game of the season knowing a draw would be enough to win their first league title in 66 years. 

The visitors took the lead when Shankland headed home a corner in the 43rd minute. 

Celtic restored parity before the break, with Arne Engels converting his spot-kick after Kieran Tierney’s cross struck Alexandros Kyziridis’s arm. 

Both sides failed to add to the scoreline for the majority of the second half, and Hearts were only three minutes away from securing the point that would have made them the Scottish champions. 

However, Derek McInnes’ side failed to hold out for the final few minutes, as Maeda and Osmand scored to hand Celtic their fifth title in a row.