Martin O’Neill hit back at criticism of the scenes at Celtic Park after the club won the Scottish Premiership title on Saturday.
Immediately after Callum Osmund’s goal sealed Celtic’s lead at the top of the table, scores of home fans rushed onto the pitch to celebrate.
Tynecastle Park club said players and staff reported “severe physical and verbal abuse” during and after the scene, calling it “unacceptable” and “shameful” behavior.
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Highlights of the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Hearts, where the hosts were crowned champions.
Celtic apologized to Hearts over the incident and added: “We will cooperate fully with any investigation.”
But when asked if those scenes tarnished the image of the game in Scotland, O’Neill hit back:
“I’m sorry, but I don’t agree with that idea at all,” he told talkSPORT. “I don’t know about the conflict between the Hearts players and there’s a lot of exaggeration about it. Let’s see what it really is.
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Emotional scenes as Celtic lift the Scottish Premiership trophy after a dramatic final-day clash with Hearts
“The fact is that by the time we scored the third goal, the game was effectively over. The referee claims he was the last one to blow the final whistle. And there was obviously excitement. We scored and won the league.”
Hearts’ ’embarrassing’ claims are ‘nonsense’
Hearts players were ushered into the tunnel by club officials and photographed leaving the ground in their match kits, with Tynecastle Park club issuing a strongly worded statement saying: “The safety of our staff was our number one priority.”
The Jambos added that the aftermath of that third goal had “embarrassed Scottish football”. But Mr. O’Neill disagreed.
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The moment Callum Osmund clinched the title for Celtic against Hearts
“Well, I don’t believe that. I just don’t believe it. I think it’s nonsense,” he responded to that statement.
“I thought the final whistle was going to blow at the exact same time that I put the ball in the net for the third goal. It’s a home game, we just won the league, the fans are on the field, you know? So why don’t we just stay where we are?”
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Martin O’Neill admits he thought his days of lifting trophies at Celtic Park were over.
Celtic added in a statement that there was “no good reason for this action”, but when asked whether fans should have been on the pitch, O’Neill added: “Well, start telling all football clubs that”, again rejecting a call for the club’s supporters.
Police Scotland was working with both clubs to investigate the scene after the match, and the Scottish Professional Football League said it was “completely unacceptable for supporters to enter the stadium under any circumstances”.
Can pitch trespass be criminalized?
Sky Sports News understands that the SPFL is set to hold talks with the Scottish Government over criminalizing pitch trespassing, as it has in England and Wales since 1991. They are also keen to discuss the recent criminalization of reckless driving in England.
Scottish First Minister John Swinney said such measures would only be considered alongside a consultation on reforming the football ban, which ended before the election.
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Police Scotland’s Assistant Chief Constable Mark Sutherland condemned the unrest in Glasgow, where supporters celebrated Celtic’s Scottish Premiership win, with several arrests made and a police officer injured.
He said: “The Government will continue to work with football clubs, football authorities and local authorities to consider what steps can be taken to prevent this from happening. We will also do so if there are further legislative measures that need to be considered to ensure these issues are addressed.”
Mr Siwiny, who criticized fans who threw missiles at police during celebrations in Glasgow city centre, scenes that resulted in a number of arrests, added: “We have a job to do and we will work with the football club, the SPFL and the city council to ensure a situation like this never happens again. And I am committed to the Government being involved in that process.”
“But fundamentally, at the heart of this issue is the unacceptable behavior of a small number of fans, and we must address that.”
