Celtic boss Martin O’Neill hits out at Hearts owner Tony Bloom over ‘assault’ allegations

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill has vehemently rejected claims that Hearts players were assaulted during the dramatic scenes at Parkhead last weekend.

The Hoops had shattered Hearts’ dream of lifting their first piece of silverware in over six decades, scoring two late goals to seal a dramatic comeback 3-1 victory on the last day.

Those late goals sparked a massive pitch invasion by supporters at full-time, making Callum Osmand’s last-minute goal the final kick of the game.

The celebrations quickly became one of the biggest talking points in the country, with questions raised about crowd control and player safety.

Hearts shareholder Tony Bloom claimed that ‘one or two players were assaulted’ during the chaos on the pitch. 

His comments added even more pressure to an already heated situation and came after Hearts publicly criticised O’Neill for dismissing the reaction surrounding the incident.

The Edinburgh club accused the Celtic boss of being ‘highly irresponsible’ after he described much of the criticism as ‘nonsense’ and ‘hyperbole’ during earlier radio interviews. 

However, O’Neill has now responded directly to Bloom’s accusations and insists there is still no proof that any assaults took place.

Speaking ahead of Celtic’s Scottish Cup final clash with Dunfermline, O’Neill questioned why such strong claims were made before investigations had been completed. 

Police Scotland are still reviewing evidence from the match and have not officially confirmed that any players were attacked.

“First of all, I think I heard Tony Bloom saying that there were two players assaulted,” said O’Neill (via the Daily Mail).

“It’s not true – if it is, it hasn’t been proven yet. I’ve watched the pictures back, and I think one of their players actually snaps a phone away from a lad and stamps on it.

“But, that’s besides the point. I can understand that. What was remarkable about it was, pitch invasion or not, do you know how long it took to clear the pitch invasion? Two minutes and 50 seconds.

“For someone to say, without proof at this moment, that the players had been assaulted, I think that’s irresponsible.”

Celtic will fancy their chances of completing a domestic double later today, following their dramatic title win last weekend.