Even though the domestic campaign concluded weeks ago, the shockwaves of Celtic’s Premiership title win are still being felt today.
One part of Edinburgh is still shaking from Martin O’Neill’s Celtic showcasing their power by winning all of their post-split fixtures, including the crucial one against Hearts.
That Callum Osmand goal, which sparked the pitch invasion seconds before the full-time whistle, has caused outrage like no other, including several cries from the opposition camp.
But while Clyde 1 pundit Roger Hannah wanted to point out that Celtic won the title ‘fair and square’, he did also claim that pitch invasions in Scotland could soon be ‘outlawed’, just like they are in England and Wales.
“Listen, Celtic won the league fair and square,” said Hannah.
“I wasn’t a fan of the pitch invasion at all. I don’t like that kind of thing. I think it will be outlawed in this country very soon, with the way it is in Wales and England.”
Should pitch invasions be outlawed in Scotland?
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Hearts’ continued cries shot down by Roger Hannah
Cammy Devlin and Craig Gordon are currently at the 2026 World Cup, with Australia and Scotland, respectively, yet they can’t get Celtic out of their heads.
That final day drama is still being discussed, and the pain they are going through.
That is the downside to Celtic’s success, but fans won’t care. Not only were most of Scotland rooting for Hearts on that day, but most of the United Kingdom.
Either way, on June 18, Celtic will learn their Premiership fixtures for the 2026/27 season and begin their push for a 57th crown.
With his journalistic hat on, Hannah is hoping that, as eyes turn to the World Cup and before the new season kicks off in August, all of this noise around Celtic’s title win will have died down.
“Emotions ran extremely high on that day at Celtic Park, and for many days afterwards,” said Hannah.
“Craig Gordon brought it up on his Instagram at the weekend, talking about a feeling of injustice among some of the Hearts players. Cammy Devlin has spoken about it. A lot of the Hearts boys have spoken about it since then.
“You would think that time would be a healer, in terms of the disappointment and hurt, emotional hurt rather than physical hurt, that they felt that day.
“Listen, Celtic won the league fair and square. I wasn’t a fan of the pitch invasion at all. I don’t like that kind of thing. I think it will be outlawed in this country very soon, with the way it is in Wales and England.
“But Celtic have won the league. Hearts, revisiting the pain they suffered in 1986, will get over it. Hopefully, by the time we kick off the domestic season again, which seems a long, long way away. We have a World Cup to get through, and people will be back ready to go again.”
What are the laws on pitch invasions in England and Wales?
As Celtic fans proved against Hearts, most of the time, fans run onto the pitch out of pure joy. Either a dramatic goal has been scored, or, in this case, a title has been sealed.
The laws in England and Wales make it clear that supporters may only enter the pitch in the event of an ’emergency’. Any individual who enters the field for any other reason faces punishment, as stated by the Football Supporters’ Association.
It adds: ‘It’s illegal and the law doesn’t discriminate.’
The types of punishments that are put on the table are:
- A very long club ban
- A criminal record
- A Football Banning Order
‘Football Banning Orders or (FBO’s) were introduced in 1989 by the Football Spectators Act and were originally intended to prevent violent and/or repeat offenders from attending football matches here and abroad – FBOs are much, much more serious and can be imposed by a court following conviction.
‘If you get a FBO, you must surrender your passport when the England/Wales football team or your club play overseas.’
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