Florence locals praise Hearts fans' behaviour after singing, flags, beer and clean-up

Hearts fans have been praised for their behaviour in Florence before and during the 5-1 defeat by Fiorentina.

Around 5,000 fans invaded the Italian city but not all managed to secure tickets for Thursday’s Europa Conference League tie in the Stadio Artemio Franchi. There were 4,000 inside the ground cheering their side despite the result.

Many congregated in and around the Piazza di Santa Croce before and after the match. They created a party atmosphere and used bin bags to clean up empty beer bottles and debris.

One local, a Twitter user named Eclisse with the handle @Il_Topo, posted: “I want to share a thought. Not about the game itself, but about the fans. Hearts supporters swarmed in Florence yesterday and all we saw was… a joyful party. Alcoholic too but: they cleaned up, no problems, just a lot of flags around the city and fun. And that’s beautiful.

“I, for myself, am too used to see bad behaviours, damages and all sort of thing, from Italians and foreigners as well. But not today. And, again, that’s beautiful. The guests sector was FULL, so there were many of them in the others.

“Again: no problems at all (as far as I know). That’s my sport ideal: no racism, no hate. Just fun… and beer! A lot of beer! I heard you guys sing for 90 minutes, no matter what, for your heroes, despite the result, and I recognised the same deep love that we feel for our team.

“So, to you, Scottish friends, slàinte mhath! Enjoy our city, I hope she welcomed you as you deserve… as yours did for us!”