Celtic Park pitch invasion: Martin O'Neill says Hearts' claim scenes "embarrassed Scottish football" are "nonsense"
Hearts said players and staff reported "serious physical and verbal abuse" after Celtic fans celebrated their title win on the pitch; Celtic apologised to Hearts and said they would cooperate with any investigation; Martin O'Neill refused to criticise fans and disagreed with criticism
Monday 18 May 2026 15:49, UK
Martin O'Neill has hit back at criticism over the scenes at Celtic Park following the club's Scottish Premiership title win on Saturday.
Moments after Callum Osmand's goal sealed top spot for Celtic, a number of home fans ran on to the pitch to celebrate.
The Tynecastle Park club said their players and staff reported "serious physical and verbal abuse" during scenes and afterwards, describing them as "unacceptable" and "disgraceful".
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Celtic did apologise to Hearts for the incident, adding they would "co-operate fully with any investigation".
However, when asked if those scenes had tainted the image of the game in Scotland, O'Neill hit back.
"I'm sorry, I totally disagree with that," he told talkSPORT. "I don't know about the confrontations in terms of the Hearts players, and there's a lot of hyperbole about that. Let's find out the real picture.
"The fact is that when we scored the third goal, the game was essentially over. The referee has claimed that he had blown the final whistle at the end. And then there's obvious excitement, we have scored to win the league."
Hearts' 'embarrassed' claims are 'nonsense'
Hearts players were ushered down the tunnel by club officials and pictured leaving the ground still wearing their match kits, with the Tynecastle Park club saying in a strongly worded statement that "the safety of our staff was our prime focus".
The Jambos added that the aftermath of that third goal had "embarrassed Scottish football". However, O'Neill disagreed.
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"Well, I don't believe that, I just don't believe it, I think it's nonsense," he responded to that statement.
"I assumed that the final whistle had gone at exactly the same moment that we put the ball in the net for the third goal. It's a home game and we'd just won the league, and the fans have come onto the field, alright? Okay, so they should stay put then?"
While Celtic added in their statement that there was "no justification for this behaviour", when O'Neill was asked if fans should have come on the pitch, he again refused to call out the club's supporters by adding: "Well, start telling that to every single football club."
Police Scotland are investigating the post-match scenes in conjunction with the two clubs, while the Scottish Professional Football League said that "supporters entering the field of play in any circumstances is wholly unacceptable".
Could pitch invasions be criminalised?
Sky Sports News understands the SPFL are set to hold discussions with the Scottish Government over criminalising pitch invasions, as has been the case in England and Wales since 1991. They are also keen to discuss tailgating becoming a criminal offence, which recently became the case in England.
Scotland's First Minister John Swinney said that such a move would only be considered alongside a consultation on the reform of football banning orders, which closed before the election.
"The Government will engage with the football clubs, with the football authorities and with the local authorities to take what steps we can take to avoid this happening, and if there are further legislative steps that we've got to consider to make sure that these issues are addressed, then we will do that," he said.
Swinney, who was critical of those fans who threw missiles at police officers during celebrations in Glasgow city centre - scenes which resulted in a number of arrests, added: "We've got a job of work to do, working with the football clubs, and the SPFL, and with the City Council to avoid this situation ever happening again. And I commit the Government to engaging in that process.
"But fundamentally, at the heart of this, is the unacceptable behaviour of the minority of fans and that has to be addressed."
