EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - MAY 13: A general view inside the stadium before the William Hill Premiership match between Heart of Midlothian and Falkirk at Tynecastle Park on May 13, 2026 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. (Photo by Malcolm Mackenzie/Getty Images)
So Hearts have, in fact, released a second statement today, and unfortunately for anyone hoping for a bombshell, there is nothing to it.
What they have done instead is make another baseless claim. They have suggested that the match was ended by a pitch invasion, which bears no relationship to what actually happened. It also refuses to acknowledge the obvious reality that the game was done from the moment Callum Osmand put the ball in the back of the net.
This is not a statement designed to clarify anything. It is a statement designed to list grievances.
Hearts want to be taken seriously as a big club.
They are not acting like one.
The claim that the pitch invasion, rather than the match officials, determined the end of the game is risible nonsense.
It has already been refuted by the official position around this match. As I wrote this morning, if there was any truth to the suggestion that the game had not properly ended, Hearts should have remained at the stadium and prepared to resume the match.
They did not. They left.
Therefore, there is nothing of factual value in that part of their statement.
Match officials have the discretion to determine the duration of games. In this case, the SPFL has already said the referee informed them that the match had ended and had not been abandoned. So, this bizarre attempt to pretend that Celtic supporters’ incursion onto the pitch ended the game bears no relationship to reality.
The game was done. Hearts had lost. The title was gone. Rather than accept that, they and others now want to continue pushing a fictitious version of events.
The part that really makes me laugh is the demand that something be done about “irresponsible comments.” I assume they are referring to the comments made by Martin O’Neill, who contradicted Hearts’ version of events in the aftermath.
In case nobody has told them, people disagreeing with your version of events does not incur any kind of official sanction. Nor should it.
People are allowed to disagree with Hearts’ version of events.
Martin O’Neill is fully entitled to defend this club and its supporters from unsubstantiated garbage which, at the time of writing, is all Hearts more lurid claims remain.
But if the SFA does want to consider inflammatory statements, it has plenty to choose from, mostly from Hearts’ own management team.
Although I suspect that if the SFA were to do its job properly in relation to that, Hearts would spit the dummy even further from the pram.
This morning, I said that if they were preparing a second statement, it would be good to know on what basis it was being prepared.
Now we know. The basis is grievance.
Because to continue insisting that this game was not properly brought to an end by officials, and that there was somehow a possibility Hearts were cheated, only makes their club sound idiotic, unprofessional and even a little bit unhinged.
I said earlier that the danger for Hearts now is not only that they lose any moral high ground they might claim, but that they start to be viewed by the rest of the game as a little bit crazy.
That is where they seem determined to go.
It has been half a week of this, and they are now starting to sound unhinged. Most clubs accept defeat. Most clubs get over it. Hearts, apparently, do not.
There is no procedural road to go down that reverses the result or changes the outcome. Their own statement makes that clear with its talk of preparing for next season and new challenges. So, they know this road is closed, but they still want to play the victim card. They still want to nurse the grievance.
Fine. But they should be aware that without a single fact to back up the more dramatic claims, they risk looking ridiculous.
Far from standing tall, far from looking like a big club, Hearts look small. They look petty. They look insubstantial.
More than anything else, they look weak.
This is the foot-stamping tantrum of a toddler not getting what he wants. It does not project strength. It advertises impotence. It does not make them look powerful and determined. It makes them look powerless and out of options.
It does not make it sound like they have a case.
It makes it sound like they cannot handle defeat in a normal and reasonable way.
Thankfully, there are still some corners of the world where conduct like this is treated as a joke. Where people who behave like this are called an embarrassment. Where institutions that behave this way are mocked for it.
I’ll tell you this now; if this was our club, if there was all this foot-stamping over a major game we had lost, and there was no procedural basis on which to stamp our feet, I would be mortified.
If we had fled an opponent’s ground under cover of highly dubious statements, and half a week later were still insisting there were unanswered questions over it, I would be urging people at Celtic simply to shut up and get past it.
Everyone involved in this, and I am sure this applies to those at Hearts too, knows there is nothing to see here.
At best, this looks opportunistic. At worst, it looks desperate.
For the sake of their own reputations, these people should stop making this worse.
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I’m surprised you haven’t reacted to the Ibrox statement James, on them claiming they’ll lead Scottish Football towards fairer refereeing decisions, and more investment in VAR.
This sounds a bit of a dangerous precedent, because if they are the leaders, could this result in decisions going their way again as they have done historically?
Even though you’ve lambasted the Celtic Board for not taking a stand against some of the shambolic refereeing decisions over the years, I’m still not expecting you to think it’s okay to roll over and let the Ibrox club take the leadership role in the government of Scottish Football.
The irrelevant huns are full of shit and should not to be taken seriously at any time, everything they do and say now is just a half hearted attempt to be noticed and to stay relevant.
As for Hearts, their reaction as James has already stated is purely down to bitterness and bigotry.
That’s true Johnny, but why are the third placed club getting on their high horse?
They’re forever on their high horse, and there wee cousins in Edinburgh are jumping on the same horse. We’ll just keep on winning, let them keep on complaining.
The only horse those two clubs are both interested in, is a white one with a rather effeminate jockey on board.
Micmac, I agree, but our tinpot league is too easy. Even when we are shite we still win the league. The UCL will never be achievable, but the europa should be a real possibility. The fact that we have got nowhere near it since MON got to the final almost a quarter of a century ago is a disgrace.
Looking forward to tonight’s game and hopefully Super John McGinn can lift the trophy.
Hearts – fuck up fuck off and suck it up. You lost get over it
All this bluster has been going on pre title and now post title,this is no coincidence,wait until next season,especially as Sevco said they will lead the way in fairness etc,(BRASS NECK) you couldn’t fkn write this stuff,it’s diabolical and dangerous, our players will be under threat next season,Hearts won one game away from home in 5 months,they blew it and we stepped in,McInnes is a bottle merchant,he came for a draw and got found out,beaten by Kilmarnock,
St Mirren,Sevco,draw with Livingston to name a few so take a look in the mirror and point the finger
I see that Toulouse have approached Motherwell with a view to grabbing their manager. I doubt they haven’t had a proper look at his uninspiring CV, eh?
I think we have to ignore it. Celtic have not won a crucial match where it has been just accepted. It is inevitable they would come up for something . BBC wage thief Lineker claiming a hand ball and an elbow to the side of the face was the worst penalty decision he has seen, smacks of anti- Irish bias. Idiot scouser Gerrard agreeing with McCoist that it was the wrong country got the decision in one incident. Low-lifes in positions of power.
Very surprised Hearts have released a second statement. They dug a hole with the first. Rather than fill in the hole they have chosen to dig deeper. Behaviour which defies logic. Our best reply would be no reply. Let them moon howl. They are showing themselves up. If we feel the need to reply or put out a post simply post the video of McInnes proudly belting out the Billy Boys. That’ll give them something substantial to talk about. Hail hail.
The statement from Hearts is remarkable only in that it is weaker and more desperate than the first where there were accusations of assault and the players having to leave asap due to intimidation. both have been dropped to simply moan about losing. that would indicate that both were fabricated or at best exaggerated (as we know). perhaps hearts should look at the scenes of pure joy when a mcinnes led kilmarnock won promotion to the spl and there was a pitch invasion. celtic should keep quiet and let these people bury themselves. the focus now should be on a managerial appointment
Oh dear, just watched Aston Villa go 2 up at the end of the first half of the Europa League and the referee led the teams off the pitch for half time after the goal was scored without restarting the game first and then blowing his whistle!
PortoJoe @ 8.54pm…
All I can say is – THANK FUCK FOR THAT !
We had The Scotland v Denmark game…
We now have The Aston Villa game…
Surely to fuck that ends this once and for fuckin well all !!!
PS – (Well done to John McGinn) !
Yes Clach, of course the game was ended by the ref and not abandoned but let’s stay off the pitch ffs, because it wont always end so well, especially in europe. We’ve seen it before.
Watched the game tonight, chuffed for McGinn also. Can see them going far in the UCL and the Premier League too with a few tweaks.
What about Emery though. He has now won that trophy 5 times altogether, with 3 different teams…
seVILLA
VILLAreal and now
aston VILLA.
Fucking spooky! 🙂
You don’t send your keeper up as an extra centre-forward target for the attacking free kick along with your entire defence and midfield at 2-1 deep into added on time unless you’ve already conceded you have nothing to lose as you’re gonna lose anyway if you don’t so if it doesn’t pay-off then you finish the league in 2nd place regardless and you know you’ve gambled all-or-bust if the other team can get a counter attack out of you losing that gamble and walking the ball int your empty net at the other end if they want to.
Hearts conceded at least a 2-1 defeat and 2nd in the league when McInnes took that gamble and it failed. It was all or nothing at 2-1 if they didn’t score from the free kick until the ball was out of play or the clock ran down – it did both after our 3rd goal was scored. Any hun, full fat or diet, who is saying the match finished differently is of course just showing symptoms of his diseased mindset that he exhibits when he mentions the Champions, and is in laymens terms talking shite.