Police pelted with bottles as Celtic fans celebrate Premiership title win
Bottles and other missiles have been thrown at police as thousands of Celtic fans celebrated the club's fifth successive Scottish Premiership title win on the streets of Glasgow. Supporters gathered in the Trongate area of the city after a 3-1 win at Parkhead stadium dashed Heart of Midlothian's dream of winning their first top flight league trophy in 66 years. Police Scotland said officers went into the celebrating crowd to assist with a medical emergency but were met with "significant levels of hostility".
The force said "decisive action" was now being taken to disperse the fans, and people were being asked to leave the area for safety reasons. Images from the scene showed lines of police with riot shields and one Celtic supporter with blood streaming from a head wound. The match itself was one of the most highly anticipated clashes in recent Scottish footballing history.
Hearts only needed a draw to end the 40-year dominance of the Glasgow clubs but two quick goals in the final minutes secured Celtic the win they required. Ecstatic Celtic fans poured onto the pitch as the third goal went into the net. BBC Sportscene pundit Allan Preston said some of the Celtic fans appeared to be targeting Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland.
The match, which was approaching the end of the indicated eight minutes of added time, did not restart after the pitch invasion. The Hearts players and staff made a hasty exit from the ground, with some players still in their match kit on the team bus as they headed back to Edinburgh. Asked about reports that fans had assaulted Hearts players, Celtic boss Martin O'Neill said: "If some Hearts players have been accosted, then that's just not right at all.
"I genuinely didn't see the scenes at the end because I thought the game wasn't over, so I'm trying to push some of our fans off the pitch again to play whatever's left. " Earlier, as his team lifted the trophy, O'Neill, now aged 74, said the Celtic players and coaching staff had "given me a reason to live". Celtic captain Callum McGregor praised the mentality of his players after everyone "wrote us off".