Scottish FA rules referee correctly ended Celtic-Hearts title decider
The Scottish FA has confirmed that referee Don Robertson took the correct action in ending the Premiership title decider at Parkhead after Celtic fans invaded the pitch.
The governing body released audio revealing the decision to conclude the match was made cooperatively with Hearts manager Derek McInnes.
The Edinburgh club had previously written to the authorities to question the allegedly premature conclusion to the game.
The visitors entered the final day of the season holding a narrow one-point advantage over their Glasgow rivals.
Late drama sparks controversy
Callum Osmand scored a late goal to secure a 3-1 victory for the home side, sealing the championship in dramatic fashion.
This decisive strike prompted a large number of supporters to flood onto the playing surface in premature celebration.
Hearts chair Calum Paterson had raised public concerns about a troubling precedent being set by the sudden termination of the contest.
SFA releases official audio
In response to these complaints, the SFA chose to publish the relevant audio-visual footage from the chaotic closing stages.
Key officials, including Head of Refereeing William Collum, reviewed the recordings on Monday at the request of the Tynecastle side.
The audio clearly indicates that a match official stated McInnes was happy to finish the game amidst the crowd disturbances.
A statement from the governing body explained that the initial review meeting was intended to be conducted privately.
“It was made clear at that meeting that the match official, Don Robertson, took the correct action in ending the game.”
Clarification on the final whistle
The official statement also addressed widespread speculation surrounding the lack of a traditional final whistle being blown.
It clarified that the Laws of the Game require the match official to signal the end of the fixture but do not prescribe a specific method.
According to the published incident report, Robertson clearly communicated that the fixture was concluded rather than abandoned.
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill successfully guided his newly-crowned champions from chaos to glory this season, with the club recently apologising to their opponents for the post-match scenes.