SFA release audio of final moments of Celtic and Hearts title decider

Key Points

SFA release audio of final moments of Scottish Premiership title decider
Celtic fans streamed onto the pitch after injury time goal against Hearts
Derek McInnes informed match officials Hearts were ‘happy to finish’ the game, say SFA
Ending of game ‘clearly communicated’ by referee despite no final whistle
Hearts minority owner Tony Bloom claimed this week players were ‘assaulted’
Game ended seconds after alloted eight minutes of injury time

The SFA has released the audio of the final moments of the Celtic and Hearts title decider, which saw the home side become champions.

The audio confirms Hearts boss Derek McInnes informed match officials his team were “happy to finish” the game as Celtic fans streamed onto the pitch.

In the audio, an official tells referee Don Robertson: “Hearts are happy to finish. Derek McInnes has told me they are happy to finish.”

The audio continued: “They [Hearts] want their players off the pitch.”

The SFA say Robertson “clearly communicated that the match was ended and not abandoned”. There was no final whistle.

The governing body also said the game had ended seven seconds more than the minimum additional time of eight minutes signalled.

Callum Osmand’s goal put the icing on the cake in injury time for Celtic after Daizen Maeda had put them in front minutes before the end of normal time.

It comes after Tony Bloom, Hearts’ minority investor, claimed on talkSport on Wednesday that “Hearts players were in danger, one or two were assaulted, it was completely unacceptable”.

The Jambos squad, alongside boss Derek McInnes, were escorted out of the stadium immediately following the end of the game. Celtic apologised to Hearts in a statement on Monday.

Hoops boss Martin O’Neill said in an interview on talkSport on Monday that Hearts’ claims that the pitch invasion had “embarrassed” Scottish football were “nonsense”.

Hearts said in a statement on Wednesday: “We are aware of highly irresponsible comments made publicly this week, which appear to seek to defend those who entered the pitch on Saturday and undermine the gravity of the situation.

“Those remarks carry dangerous implications, and we call upon the football authorities to ensure that this matter is addressed with the seriousness it demands, and with the full cooperation of all involved.”

They added: “As previously noted, the club is investigating events before, during and after the match, and will offer Police Scotland our full support as they continue with their enquiries.

“We have written to the SFA and SPFL setting out our observations and questions regarding the circumstances surrounding the premature ending of the match, and expressing our concern that a troubling precedent has been set whereby a pitch invasion can effectively determine the duration of a football match, rather than the match officials.

“We have asked them for a prompt response to the points we have raised.”

SFA full statement

The SFA’s full statement says: “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.”