Michael Stewart made a serious claim about the fallout from Celtic’s title celebrations against Hearts. The problem is there is currently no public evidence to support it.
Two weeks after Celtic’s title celebrations against Hearts, the fallout is still spiralling because of one major Michael Stewart claim.
The problem for Stewart is that neither Hearts nor Police Scotland have publicly confirmed his version of events.
Just how badly has the SFA’s VAR audio from the Premiership finale reflected on Hearts…
Michael Stewart’s Celtic Park police claim lacks real evidence
Speaking about the chaos after the final whistle at Celtic Park, Stewart said, “Just because Derek McInnes wants the players off the park because of their safety, that doesn’t constitute the game being finished.
“And let me be clear as well, by the way, Hearts were advised by the police to leave the ground for their own safety. The police advised Hearts to leave the stadium.
“So I don’t know if the police were advising at the time to get them off the park as well. You know, you just don’t know. There are too many unknowns.”
That is an explosive allegation if true. But despite the noise surrounding the incident, no public statement from Police Scotland currently confirms Stewart’s version of events.
There is a major difference between Hearts deciding to leave Celtic Park and Police Scotland actively advising the club to leave for safety reasons.
So far, the publicly available evidence only supports the first part.
Hearts themselves described a “menacing and threatening atmosphere” in their official statement after the match. The Edinburgh side also claimed they had “no alternative but to leave immediately”.
However, Hearts took the Celtic fallout too far but even their club statement never says Police Scotland instructed them to leave the stadium.
That matters because Stewart presented the claim as fact rather than opinion or speculation.
Police Scotland have publicly confirmed investigations into alleged incidents after the match. But there has been no publicly available confirmation that officers advised Hearts to leave Celtic Park.
Derek McInnes’ Celtic Park concerns are not proof Stewart is correct
Derek McInnes clearly had concerns over player safety during the aftermath of the match. The released referee audio confirmed discussions were taking place during the confusion after the pitch invasion.
But as the SFA released Celtic Park VAR audio showed, concern and frustration do not automatically prove Stewart’s allegation.
That is where the discussion has started to spiral.
Repeated claims quickly become accepted as truth even when no supporting evidence has been produced publicly.
It is exactly why the wider fallout has become increasingly messy, something highlighted when Hearts turn out to be the real embarrassment after days of escalating rhetoric.
Celtic’s own response was also noticeably calmer and more measured throughout the controversy, as seen how Celtic’s statement handled the pitch invasion fallout.
Stewart may well believe the information he has been given is accurate. But unless Police Scotland or Hearts publicly confirm it, the claim simply cannot be treated as established fact.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
