Heart of Midlothian has sharply condemned the «shameful scenes» that followed their narrow defeat to Celtic Glasgow on the final day of the Scottish Premiership season, which saw Celtic snatch the championship title.
The Scottish top-tier club, Heart of Midlothian, expressed outrage after a last-minute goal by Callum O’Riley in the 90th minute plus added time secured a 3-1 victory for Celtic. This win denied Heart of Midlothian their fairy tale championship ending. The club stated in a released statement that the pitch invasion by Celtic fans after the decisive goal would «once again bring Scottish football into disrepute.» The statement continued, «Reports of severe physical and verbal assaults against our players and staff, both on and off the pitch, are deeply disturbing.»
Following the chaotic situation, players, including German goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow, reportedly left Celtic Park in a hasty manner. Team manager Derek McInnes opted to forgo the press conference. The runner-up stated, «We will not comment further at this time, other than to say it is completely unacceptable that our players and staff were subjected to this situation.» The club described the atmosphere in the stadium as «threatening and intimidating,» leaving them with «no other choice but to leave Celtic Park.»
Celtic had previously denied Heart of Midlothian a fairytale championship ending. With this victory, Martin O’Neill’s team snatched the league lead from the underdog on the final day, celebrating their 56th league title with a two-point advantage. This fourth consecutive championship, and 13th in the last 14 years, also saw Celtic surpass local rivals Rangers (55 titles).
No Happy Ending for Hearts: Celtic’s Last-Minute Title Triumph
In front of avid Celtic fan Rod Stewart, goals from Daizen Maeda (87′) and O’Riley secured the crucial win and a record-breaking championship for Celtic. Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland had initially put his team in the lead with his 16th goal of the season (43′).
Belgian player Arne Engels, who moved to Celtic from FC Augsburg in 2024, equalized from a penalty kick awarded for a handball (45’+4). Long-time Bundesliga goalkeeper Schwolow had guessed the right direction, but the ball slipped under his body.
Hearts had previously missed out on their fifth league title on the final day of the season in 1965 and 1986. The last Scottish champion outside of Celtic or Rangers was Aberdeen FC in 1985, who, under Sir Alex Ferguson, had repeated their 1984 success.