GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - MAY 16: Celtic fans during a William Hill Premiership match between Celtic and Heart of Midlothian at Celtic Park, on May 16, 2026, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Celtic released a statement last night which celebrated our 5th in a row title triumph. It also issued an apology to Hearts. I do not think Hearts deserved an apology of that nature, because their own statement was full of bitterness and whingeing.
But I know why Celtic issued it. This is what big clubs do.
They act responsibly, professionally and with respect for their opponents.
I read it and, I will admit, part of me thought: why? Why apologise to a club whose own statement dripped with bitterness and grievance? Why extend respect to people who seem incapable of giving it back?
Why can Hearts just not accept the fact that Celtic deserved this title more? Celtic act with respect and high professionalism towards other clubs, no matter if Celtic win or lose a game. There is no hatred from the club towards them.
Celtic act professionally. That is why they apologised to Hearts in the statement.
My first reaction was to think that if Hearts cannot respect Celtic, and if they cannot stand Celtic, why should Celtic act this way towards them and say, “We’re sorry,” when what we receive back is hatred and aggression?
Then my Ginger Witch instincts kicked in, and I knew exactly why Celtic did it.
We did it because nothing more clearly demonstrates the difference between a responsible and reasonable and rational club and one which has left all that behind to pursue bitterness and moan about agendas and hostile environments.
That is what big institutions, serious institutions do. That is what champions do.
Celtic act like Celtic. Even when others lose their heads, Celtic keep theirs. Even when others lash out in frustration, Celtic respond with professionalism. That difference matters. It always has, which is why we don’t go down the Statement O’Clock road.
You can feel it in moments like this. One club celebrating greatness with dignity, the other sounding consumed by anger because the reality is too painful to accept. Celtic deserved this title. Over a season, the table never lies. It is the oldest truth in football. Thirty-eight games expose everything. Quality. Mentality. Consistency. Courage.
Once again, Celtic stood above everyone else in Scotland.
Five in a row does not happen by accident.
Five in a row is not luck. It is not referees. It is not conspiracy. It is not “narratives.” It is relentless excellence. It is standards so high that other clubs spend more time complaining about Celtic than trying to become Celtic.
That is the uncomfortable truth for these people underneath all the whingeing. They cannot stand the fact that Celtic continue to rise while they remain trapped in excuses. In order to beat Celtic, you first have to understand Celtic … and they don’t.
That is what annoyed me about the apology. Not because Celtic were wrong to do it, but because Hearts had not shown that same class themselves. Their statement came across like a club raging at the world instead of accepting defeat with dignity.
There was an edge to it. A bitterness that overshadowed everything else. Instead of looking inward and asking why they fell short, the focus drifted towards Celtic again.
It always comes back to Celtic.
That is the burden of being the biggest club in the country. Everyone measures themselves against you. Everyone reacts emotionally to you. Every Celtic victory becomes a national discussion. Every Celtic title becomes something opponents try to explain away instead of simply admitting the obvious.
Celtic were better. Because we were. And deep down, they know it.
That is why Celtic’s apology actually says more about Celtic than it does about Hearts. It was not weakness. It was not Celtic bowing down or acting like pawns. It was Celtic behaving with the professionalism expected from a club of stature. A club with worldwide support. A club built on values bigger than petty point-scoring.
Celtic understand that winning with grace matters too. We understand that you can beat an opponent without needing to humiliate them. We acknowledge how hard Hearts fought and how they made us battle to the last. In doing so, in acting with such decency, we have shown how small minded and bitter they are.
That is why, whether Celtic win or lose, the club rarely descends into hatred or public tantrums towards opponents. Of course, fans will argue and emotions will fly. Football would be dead without passion. But institutionally, Celtic tend to act with composure.
There is a reason for that. Great clubs act proportionately. Great clubs think beyond one angry weekend.
Maybe that frustrates supporters like me sometimes, because emotionally you want to roar back. You want to say: hold on a minute, where is our respect? Why should Celtic apologise when others throw aggression, resentment and accusations in return?
But then I look at the bigger picture. Celtic do not apologise because Hearts deserve it. Celtic apologise because Celtic hold themselves to a higher standard. That is the difference.
One club reacts emotionally because it is wounded. The other acts like serial champions who understand that responsibility comes with success.
It reminds me of something I have always sensed about Celtic.
There is a power in the club that goes beyond trophies. A confidence. An aura. My Ginger Witch senses always pick up on it. Even with this board of prats and fools, Celtic know who they are. That identity still burns strong.
That is why panic never fully consumes us, even in difficult moments. That is why this team always seems to find a way. And that is why, when the dust settles, Celtic are the ones lifting titles while others are still writing complaints.
Five in a row. Again. Think about that for a second.
The consistency required is frightening. Different managers, different players, different pressure points, yet the outcome remains the same. Celtic standing on top of Scottish football. That is not arrogance. That is reality. That is strength.
Perhaps that reality is exactly what some clubs cannot stomach anymore. Because no matter how much bitterness is thrown around, no matter how many statements are released, no matter how loudly rivals rage against the machine, Celtic keep winning.
We are bigger. Stronger. More successful. More professional.
That is why the apology happened.
Not because Celtic were weak. Not because Hearts earned special sympathy. But because Celtic understand that sometimes true strength lies in humility. In basic decency. In behaving like winners, as much as the other side behave like losers.
Celtic act like leaders in Scottish football because they are leaders in Scottish football. And honestly? I would rather support a club that shows class in victory than one that loses itself in resentment after defeat. That is the Celtic way.
Champions on the pitch. Professional off it.
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Ian Murray, George Foulkes, Ewen Cameron, Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy, Craig Levein, John Robertson, Kris the void Boyd, Michael Stewart, Simon Jordan, Hugh Keevins, Ian Crocker and every other sports journalist or Hertz affiliate, along with their players and supporters…. Get it round you all.The meltdown from the Hertz fans and subsequent hilarity from the Celtic fans has been a joy to behold.
A mild-mannered apology is the perfect passive-aggressive response to their incoherent rage.
The Celtic board have not shown class this season and we only need to look at the attacks on managers and fans to see this. The statement should have said we will be happy to cooperate with any enquiry and will be pursuing Hearts through the SPFL for the inflammatory statements made by their manager and players, and Police Scotland for the assaults on Celtic fans by Hearts players. Everybody knew there were clowns of all ages who would be invading the park but even clowns don’t deserve to be assaulted by morons who can’t handle defeat. Anger is not a defence in law. A message to Hearts, if your players do the crime then they should do the time. You are the most abominable club in Scotland and that’s a high achievement considering the competition.
Very well said, Jock.
Hearts deserved no apology. It wasn’t a Celtic player who was ushered off the pitch and who assaulted a Celtic supporter. That was ‘Tefal Heed’ Shankland. It wasn’t a Celtic manager who was ushered off the pitch and up the tunnel. That was the nasty threatening bigot McInnes.
Hearts were that bitter and unprofessional they cleared off out the stadium very quickly, on to their bus and off back to Edinburgh. Some of their players still had their strips and boots on. That YouTube footage shows the world how truly bitter and manky they are. Players not even showering before heading back home. Manky bitter f@ckwits.
BTW, it was a police officer who ushered the nasty bigot McInnes up the tunnel.
Also, i think Celtic should be pursuing action against certain Hearts players and their bitter bigot manager. That includes the arsehole who stood just before the tunnel telling Celtic supporters to “come down here” and say that before he was eventually ushered up the tunnel.
The ‘Bat out of Hell’ exit was more than likely pre arranged. In the event they lost, they were never going to hang around and take the flak from the stands… especially not Derek McRat!… cowards, who just couldn’t stomach defeat.
Incidently, wasn’t it their place where our manager was attacked from behind on the touchline?… as I say, cowards!
In the words of Spiderman,s Uncle Ben. WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY. HAIL HAIL
I can accept Hearts players and officials leaving Celtic Park as quickly as they could, but to do so as dramatically as they did was ridiculous, and was another ploy by McInnes to deflect from his and his players inadequacies in the 2nd half of the season. This was always going to be one of the most tense and emotional games at Celtic Park, probably since 1998,. Hearts complained about a menacing and threatening atmosphere in the ground, what did they expect. Both Tynecastle and Ibrox can be pretty threatening and menacing to our players, every time they visit them. I wonder how Hearts would react if one of their backroom staff had been hit on the head by a bottle, their goalkeeper had broken glass placed in his goal area or their players had been hit by coins. The double standards by the Scottish Media is always in full show when Celtic supporters step out of line, the outrage by these hypocrites is breathtaking.
I would have found it very hard to apologise to Hearts, but on reflection I do think a limited apology was probably the right way to go. Within a day or two things will calm down, and the fact that Celtic have now won 5 in a row, with a reasonable chance of going into the Champions League will sink in.
We now know that the worst losers in Scottish football are the cousins from Glasgow and Edinburgh. Self scrutiny is alien to them and Dignity is a word they don’t understand.
Over to this Board of ours once again. Surely they know that this is their last chance to show some ambition for our club, whilst improving in their communication and dialogue with the supporters.
I’ll not hold my breath.
Do you think Celtic will privately ask Hearts for evidence that their players were bloodied and battered , or the headlines from certain news outlets that Hearts players were slaughtered leaving Celtic park , putting out a strong statement is one thing ( which like yourself I totally agree with ) but you still need to defend fans when things go over the top , accept responsibility for the crowd coming on to the park , but take to task the totally unacceptable behaviour off others , within Hearts & media outlets . HH
Paulina is absolutely right about the club statement but showing class also applies to us as supporters. We have long congratulated ourselves on the behaviour of the travelling fans to cities all over Europe. We have to be consistent on our own patch. From my seat on Saturday I was aware that most fans in the ground were booing the “minority” who ran on to the park and nothing I saw then or since will convince me that it was just a few exuberant youngsters. There were people on the park who are old enough to know better. Their selfish 5 minutes of notoriety opened up the opportunity for everybody who is only too happy to have a pop at Celtic and us the fans. As for assaulting opposition players, let the police and the justice system do their job. Then the club can take the next step and ban them from the stadium.
We’ll see if any Hearts players were assaulted physically, I seriously doubt it, most of what’s been alleged is nonsense but you’re right about people in the ground booing the people that ran on. I would’ve liked to have seen Hearts have to take centre again and the full time whistle immediately following.
Well said Paulina, I’m happy that your focus is on celebrating Celtic’s title win rather than showing a lack of class by kicking the gallant losers when they’re down.
I honestly can’t remember Celtic fans who don’t win or lose with dignity, as Jock Stein always preached. I think Tommy Burns and Martin O’Neill would agree – celebrate your victory with grace and class. For me that’s what separates us from the Ibrox bigots. I hope this is not a sign that we’re going down the same path.
Jeez – It’s Monday and today feels better than yesterday although that probably due to ten hours of travel with the hangover from hell to pick up the motor in Glasgow…
I still feel warm and woozy and fuzzy after it all…
Goodness knows what it feels like on the other side but I ain’t caring as they fuckin certainly wouldn’t about us !