Now that the absolute euphoria from Saturday’s much deserved celebrations have subsided, I want to discuss one of the subjects which seems more prominent in the mainstream media than the amazing achievement of Celtic coming back from the dead to clinch the most unlikely of title wins…
The pitch invasion!
I’ll start by saying this. I’m not, and never have been, a fan of supporters entering the field of play at any time. It just shouldn’t happen. The absolute joy of watching Celtic break away towards an empty net to seal the title was unmistakable, so I can somewhat understand how emotions might take over in such a situation. The problem is the vast majority have run onto the pitch for entirely selfish reasons.
Most of those fans had a phone in their hand, so obviously cared more about getting that all important photo or video for their socials than actually living in the moment.
This is a problem with society in general
This is a problem with society in general, when the majority of people at the scene of an accident would rather take photos or videos of someone in a critical condition than actually help then you know there is something desperately wrong with the world. I digress. I could moan about this all day but I’ll get back to my point.
Hearts at Celtic Park on May 16, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
It was clear as day the Celtic players didn’t want them there
The fans who entered the pitch on Saturday didn’t just annoy the Hearts fans. It was clear as day the Celtic players didn’t want them there either and that is totally understandable.
Those Celtic players had just pulled off a comeback that few envisioned. They deserved to enjoy the moment with each other, and with the fans celebrating in the stands. They didn’t need their moment ruined by a load of people pestering them for selfies. You could see it was making a lot of them uncomfortable.
One thing I haven’t heard mentioned however is how many Celtic players actually intervened when some fans took it upon themselves to taunt the Hearts players. Not a peep.
They have been similarly quiet on the fact that the vast majority of Celtic fans in the stadium were booing the pitch invaders. Even during the match, have you heard anyone mention how Kelechi Iheanacho stopped play when realising Beni Baningime had picked up a serious injury? These displays of sportsmanship obviously don’t suit the anti-Celtic narrative.
The Hearts players certainly shouldn’t have had to deal with that at the end of a game that saw all the hard work they put in through the season go up in smoke. Chris Sutton said afterwards that in those circumstances the fans who got in their faces were lucky they weren’t on the end of a few slaps, and I have to agree.
The fake news that Hearts players were physically assaulted
The thing that has really annoyed me however was the seemingly fake news that Hearts players were physically assaulted. It is now three days later and not one bit of footage exists showing these assaults. Not one Hearts player has come out and stated they were attacked. The story however remains unopposed by almost everyone outside of those with ties to Celtic.
I have seen a few clips of Hearts players being taunted, and as I have stated earlier, I fully condemn this. There is however a huge difference between someone laughing in someone’s face or giving them the fingers and actually physically assaulting them.
The knives are clearly out for Celtic
The rumours of physical attacks were abound minutes after the invasion, and with absolutely no evidence at all, has been taken as gospel. This is entirely expected as the knives are clearly out for Celtic at the minute.
This title win really did annoy all the right people. Many in the media have shown their true faces this past week and it shouldn’t be forgotten by any of us.
The past few days would make you believe that Celtic fans are the only supporters in the country who have entered the field of play in the history of Scottish football. The media narrative would lead you to believe this is a Celtic problem, not a Scottish football problem. They couldn’t be more wrong. This has happened multiple times this season at different grounds.
The Rangers fans applying a holier-than-thou attitude
We even have supporters of the Rangers applying a holier-than-thou attitude to all of this, mere weeks after their fans stormed the Ibrox pitch, not to celebrate, but to attack opposition fans and Celtic staff members. Their behaviour over recent seasons, with items being thrown from the crowd regularly, has been atrocious. The broken glass spread across Joe Hart’s goal line is still one of the most sinister things to have ever happened at a Scottish football ground.
We also have Hearts, who albeit have a right to feel aggrieved about the events on Saturday, acting like they have never had problems with their fans. The attack on Celtic manager Neil Lennon in 2011 at Tynecastle was one of vilest things to have happened in our game. Every club unfortunately has problems with certain fans. No one is lily-white.
The pile on against Celtic now at a different levelÂ
The pile on against Celtic however is taken to a different level, although I doubt many of you are surprised.
I know it may be hard for many to not get frustrated by the narrative in the media at the moment, whether it be the pitch invasion or the ludicrous claims that there is pro-Celtic corruption amongst Scottish officials (no laughing at the back).
You have to remember however that the reason all this is happening is because this one really killed them. Their dream of either Hearts or the Rangers winning the title is over. The impossible has happened. The season where Celtic completely imploded on and off the pitch has ended with us somehow coming out on top yet again.
I hope it absolutely ruins their summer!
Conall McGinty
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6 Comments
Look at the fans on park 4 years ago , Killie v Arbroath, McInnes in middle of fans allowing selfies , totally hypocritical .
Not a thing about Shankland pushing fans or the hearts pkayer jumping on celtic fans mobile phone . But no fan should ever go onto the field of play . Anyone that was on field should be banned from football stadiums . No matter who they are or who they support .
I would agree with that if there was a law stating that you cannot enter the field of play in Scottish football. Therefore, you cannot punish someone with an actual law being put in place. I think that they are ruining the game for supporters on a yearly basis if I am honest I might have went onto a football field, but I think that I am getting on a little for things like that, but I don’t think that there is anything wrong with younger generation going onto the field as long as these supporters who do go on the field show respect to all players from both teams on the pitch. If they cant do that then don’t go onto the pitch, and expect the repercussions for the long arm of the law. There is nothing wrong with the current situation at the moment so I wish everyone would stop trying to spoil it for other clubs just because they are not successful themselves.
Everybody wants to take a pop at successful teams. Jealousy is a terrible thing. Fans should never be on the pitch, but it happens at all levels of football UK and Worldwide . No confirmation of actual attacks on Hearts players but evidence of Hearts player stomping on fans phone. For the MSPs to get involved and look at making it an offence to be on the pitch just because it was Celtic, (the most successful team in Scotland) is shocking. Where were all these comments, interventions etc when The Rangers fans ‘actually’ attacked Celtic staff on the pitch on numerous occasions?
When it comes to conspiracies allowing Celtic to win, 36 games prior to the Motherwell game everything possible was done to prevent them from winning.
You cannot blame the players/ clubs or fans for the referee’s and the SFAs decisions. They need to be held accountable for decisions made.
Celtic, like all good teams play till the final whistle, which in some cases can be 5,6,7 minutes added on due to playacting and time wasting.
Excellent article which sums all the over the top nonsense in the mainstream media succinctly. Always remember this anti-Celtic rage has been with us forever and shows no sign of going away anytime soon
Once again Celtic are not in control of the narrative. They allow all sorts of accusations and false statements to circulate but are never quick enough to get in front of the story. The PR Dept is another unit which needs dragged into the modern age, always reactive and never proactive. It’s no wonder we see all this vitriol in the media because Celtic are so slow to combat it. Does everything at CP have to be scrutinised? Can no-one make an independent decision?