Martin O'Neill has doubled down on his defence of Celtic fans as Hearts continue their relentless pursuit of a positive outcome to their league campaign.
Despite the Jambos losing fair and square on the final day of the Scottish Premiership season, when they were defeated 3-1 at Parkhead, they are adamant that action should be taken over the referee blowing his whistle early. It was incredibly unlikely that they could have pulled back two goals in under a minute, but they have called out O'Neill for his 'highly irresponsible' comments, where he defended pitch invaders.
Although most people may back off, O'Neill is standing strong in his position that the reaction is over the top, and it's hard to disagree with him. Celtic's fantastic title win has been overshadowed by a side who can't accept defeat, and he has now spoken publicly about the incident.
He said to Celtic TV: "There’s no question it’s been lost. Outside our supporters, outside us, outside the diaspora, everybody wanted Hearts to win. So there was just this… what shall I say… just an incredible anti‑feeling about us winning it, and so that didn’t become the story.
"The story became the fans coming onto the pitch to celebrate as if it’s never happened before, and yeah, and just downright skullduggery on our part to actually take the win away from Hearts.
"So Hearts have been brilliant all season, and let’s remind ourselves about that there, but we won it, and sometimes I have to remind myself that we did do it."
O'Neill is completely correct for not backing down
Although most may fold under the pressure of the media, O'Neill is standing strong in his position, and he has every right to do so. Pitch invasions shouldn't happen in an ideal world, but they do, and it's a simple truth that there has not been this much outrage over previous invasions of play, such as when Falkirk fans encroached on the pitch after securing promotion last season, or when Rangers ultras threw flares at Hoops supporters at Ibrox earlier in the campaign.
A great title win shouldn't be overshadowed by a club trying to change the outcome of a match. It will be a big surprise if anything comes of their complaint to the SFA and the SPFL, because Celtic did nothing wrong.
At the end of the day, people need to come to terms with the fact that Celtic are champions. The charge to five-in-a-row will not be forgotten, and we should begin construction of the O'Neill statue sooner rather than later!
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