Celtic manager Martin O'Neill issues stinging response to Hearts as telephone number issue arises

Hearts shareholder Tony Bloom claimed earlier this week that members of Derek McInnes’ squad were confronted and put in harm’s way by some jubilant Celtic supporters as they spilled on to the pitch to celebrate clinching the league trophy after Callum Osmand scored to make it 3-1 in the 98th minute.

Celtic issued an apology to the Edinburgh club after their opponents were forced to make a hasty exit from the stadium while still wearing their kit. Police Scotland have launched an investigation into whether there was any criminality involved with regards to the assault allegations.

Should proof emerge, O’Neill claims that another apology will be due. However, until then, the interim Celtic manager has intimated his club are innocent until proven guilty.

Hearts also criticised what they called “highly irresponsible” comments made by O’Neill in an interview on TalkSPORT, when the Northern Irishman dismissed claims the incident had embarrassed Scottish football.

“It's remarkable,” O’Neill replied when asked if he had been taken aback by the fallout. “I expected it, so it's not a problem. I'm not contracted to TalkSPORT, but I've done some things with them. I've seen pitch invasions in the past. I don't know whether you saw Leverkusen winning the league, and the game is at 89 minutes. The referee decided to stop the game. That’s fine, if you want to stop pitch invasions, I think it's illegal in England. Man City had one when they won the league. I was surprised initially about the fallout, but now the continuation of it.”

Offering his response to the Hearts statement, O’Neill declared: “First of all, I think I heard Tony Bloom saying that there were two players assaulted. It's not true – if it is, it hasn't been proven yet. I've watched the pictures back, and I think one of their players actually snaps a phone away from a lad and stamps on it. But that's besides the point, I can understand that.

“What was remarkable about it was, pitch invasion or not, do you know how took to clear the pitch invasion? Two minutes and 50 seconds. For someone to say, without proof at this moment, that players had been assaulted, I think that's irresponsible. If it is proved that those players had been assaulted, that's not on at all. That's an offence at the end of the day. I think if it's the case, it would be more than an apology from us.

“What has happened is that people have taken out the emotion of the game. I didn't know what Hearts' argument was at the end of the day. Because the pitch invasion had taken place? Had the game finished or not? Were we going to go back and play the last 15 seconds if that was the case? I also didn't know it was the rules that the referee, Don Robertson, doesn't have to blow a whistle to finish the game, as was proved at Leverkusen. Because Leverkusen scored another goal to put it beyond them and to win the game.

“There have been pitch invasions here in this country... there was one at Kilmarnock when they got promotion. Derek was on the pitch at the time. If pitch invasions are going to be universally blocked, fine. And if it's a criminal offence to go onto the pitch, that's something else. I'm not sure in the euphoria.

“I don't know this for certain, but at the end of the day, had the situation been reversed, and it had happened at Hearts, I think that there wouldn't have been the clamour that there has been here. You have to take into consideration that outside the Celtic diaspora, and part of Edinburgh, everybody wanted Hearts to win. And I think that has taken everything into consideration. That is absolutely fine. I've got no problem with that.”

O’Neill’s telephone number change

At 74-years-old, it would be easy for O’Neill to decide that enough is enough after revealing that he was forced to change his contact details, having been inundated with messages in the aftermath of Celtic’s penalty controversy against Motherwell on the penultimate matchday of the season.

“I’ve changed my telephone number because it was circulated around,” he confessed. “You want to hear some of the comments on those... That was from Wednesday night I had to change it. It’s not a problem but I’ve had it for 35 years and it was kind of part of me at the end of the day. It got circulated somewhere. It was messages, texts, everything. That was before the game.

“I decided on Friday I needed to change it to concentrate on the Hearts game on Saturday. I might put it back again just to listen to the messages! Maybe the sentence where I used the word ‘nonsense’, that should probably have been in relation to when Jim White asked me if winning the league had been tainted. Me using the word ‘nonsense’ maybe didn’t quite correspond to that sentence. For me personally, I don’t think anything is tainted.

“In the heat of the moment, I shouldn’t have said it. I definitely do apologise for that. It has grown arms and legs since then, which I thought it would do. The minute Hearts complained about it, I knew it would grow.

“I might need to eat a load of humble pie here if it’s proved that any assaults took place, but so far that’s not been the case. But I do think if there’s going to be a universal ban on people coming on to the pitch that something would be lost from the game. I am saying that when the result has gone for me. I desperately hope I would say the same thing if the result went against me.”

O’Neill went on: “I’ve experienced some real highs at this football club, but I’ve also experienced some real lows as well. There were seasons where we lost the league on the very last day. I know what that feels like.

“I like Terry Butcher a lot. When he was in charge of Motherwell, he celebrated that as if he had won the World Cup. Sometimes you have to go through that experience and come back stronger from it. I am sure Hearts will come back stronger next season.

“In terms of do I really need this at this stage of my life with the phone calls and changing my number and whatever else, I do think about it. But it’s worth it.”

Sign up for The Scotsman's World Cup newsletter - full details here