Martin O’Neill disputes claim Hearts players were 'assaulted' when Celtic won league

OVER-EMOTIONAL: Celtic fans invaded the pitch after they won the title from Hearts on the last day of the season. Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire.

Martin O’Neill has taken issue with Tony Bloom over his “fairly severe allegation” on national radio that Hearts players were “assaulted” by Celtic supporters during the pitch invasion at the end of last Saturday’s Celtic Park title decider.

Hundreds of Hoops fans streamed on to the playing surface after Callum Osmand made it 3-1 to the hosts and effectively sealed the William Hill Premiership title, with several seen running towards the crestfallen Jambos.

Although angered by the situation, which police are investigating, Hearts have never publicly claimed that any of their players were assaulted.

However Brighton owner Bloom, a minority investor in the Edinburgh club, said in an interview with talkSPORT’s Jim White on Wednesday that “Hearts players were in danger, one or two were assaulted, it was completely unacceptable”.

“Tony Bloom has had some reflections himself to Jim and he said that two of their players were assaulted,” O’Neill said at a press conference on Thursday.

“If that’s the case then obviously that would be a deep apology from all of us at Celtic Park.

“That’s a fairly severe allegation as well, so that’s not been proved. 

If it is eventually proved, and there’s been a lot of searching round over videos and things like this here, then obviously that would be very serious indeed.

“But he did use the word ‘assault’ and that hasn’t been proved yet.

“So I’m surprised that no one has further investigated these assault charges. I thought that Mr Bloom might have been questioned a wee bit further by Jim on that, but seemingly not.” 

O’Neill himself caused a stir in a fiery interview with White on talkSPORT on Monday, when he appeared to play down the post-match scenes. When asked about Hearts referring to the scenes as having “embarrassed Scottish football”, O’Neill said: “As they might do. I just don’t believe it. I think it’s nonsense.” 

TAINTED

Hearts said on Wednesday that O’Neill’s comments were “irresponsible” and the Celtic manager appeared to imply on Thursday that he did not mean to dismiss the Edinburgh club’s concerns so readily.

“I think that I should really have referred the word ‘nonsense’ to when Jim had mentioned whether the winning of the title had been tainted,” he said.

“I do say some things in the heat of the moment that I find myself probably regretting.” O’Neill insisted he has no issue with pitch invasions in general.

“If you’re going to stop pitch invasions, if you’re going to do it all over Europe, then I suppose something is going to be lost in the game,” he said. 

It’s not the first pitch invasion that’s taken place. In Manchester City, the fans were on the field when they won the championship.

“Leverkusen two seasons ago, and I think closer to home there was a pitch invasion when Kilmarnock got promotion (from the Championship), so pitch invasions are not new, at the end of the day.

“And if you want to stop all pitch invasions, well that’s up to the authorities. I think you’re taking the emotion out of the game.

Celtic manager Martin O'Neill with the Scottish Premier League trophy. Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire.

“I’ll tell you something now: I bet you there’ll be another pitch invasion in the next 10 years if a team wins a league or a cup.”