Hearts won't forget: Blood, tears and injustice at Celtic - and a drive to create new history at Tynecastle

No-one has forgotten. Wounds are still open. Emotions still raw. Memories still vivid. Anger still simmers. Police procedures are still live. A sense of injustice still lingers. Inside Tynecastle Park, the belief that Heart of Midlothian were unfairly treated at the end of last season has not dissipated. Not one iota. Whatever might be said publicly, Hearts still ache. Understandably so.

Just 155 days since losing the Scottish Premiership title in the dying minutes of the campaign at Celtic Park, Hearts return to the scene of the crime this Sunday. Well, one of the crime scenes at least. There is no ignoring what happened on their last visit to Parkhead. For staff and players who witnessed events unfolding there on 16 May, thinking about them will always generate a chill down the spine. An entirely new management team and 12 new players have arrived in Gorgie since then, but each and every one knows how last season’s final day panned out.

It helps that there is a fresh look, many different personnel and a new footballing approach from Hearts this term. Returning to Celtic with the core of the squad which suffered there in May would make Sunday’s task arguably more difficult. Or would it? Would they return burning with even more desire to gain revenge and earn three points? Who knows? We will never know. But we do know one thing. Had Hearts been treated fairly during the final weeks of 2025/26, they would currently be champions of Scotland.

Which brings us to the other crime scene. Fir Park, Motherwell. We all know what happened there in the space of a few days leading up to the final-day title decider. Hearts were denied a clear penalty on 9 May when Motherwell’s Tawanda Maswanhise tripped Alexandros Kyziridis. Referee Steven McLean didn’t award one despite reviewing the incident on VAR’s advice, and the game ended 1-1. Four days later at the same venue, former Hearts winger Sam Nicholson was penalised for an alleged handball in the 97th minute and Celtic scored the resultant penalty to win 3-2.

Hearts are back at Celtic Park later this month. | SNS Group

Both decisions worked in Celtic’s favour and kept them alive in the title race. Both were subsequently confirmed wrong by the Scottish Football Association’s independent Key Match Incidents review panel [the KMI panel has since been disbanded after clubs withdrew support]. Those two decisions helped Celtic reach the season’s last day just one point behind leaders Hearts, who had been top of the Premiership for 250 days.

Now, it should not be overlooked that Hearts dropped vital league points during the second half of the campaign against smaller clubs St Mirren, Kilmarnock and Livingston. The Tynecastle side are responsible for not getting more from those fixtures. Two additional points would have crowned them champions for the first time since 1960 and avoided the final-day chaos in Glasgow. However, it should also be remembered that no team should need to win extra points to compensate for incompetent officiating further down the line. That was ultimately the scenario Hearts faced.

Sitting in the Celtic Park press box watching the season-ending fixture unfold, intros were written acclaiming the visitors as Premiership winners with 87 minutes played and the scoreline 1-1. “History belonged to Hearts in Glasgow as they won the Scottish league title for the first time in 66 years to etch their name in football folklore,” would have been this newspaper’s first sentence. It didn’t see the light of day, of course, as two late Celtic goals secured their 14th top-flight title in 15 years and forced hasty rewrites.

The scenes which followed were unacceptable and helped fuel the discontent at Tynecastle. One paragraph this title did publish at the time still stands: Regardless who won the league, it simply should not have finished with thousands of people rampaging all over the field of play. It should not have finished with Hearts players fleeing the stadium under police escort. It should not have finished with blood shed or statements of condemnation.

It was, to be blunt, a disgraceful way to conclude a footballing season. Celtic celebrated on the field and in the Trongate, while Police Scotland and stewards got to work amid complaints of assault on visiting players and on-duty officers. So far, more than 50 people have been arrested in connection with the carnage. Hearts left the stadium immediately. No post-match media duties. Just players and staff queueing outside Celtic Park to board the team bus and get out of there. Tears flowed when they returned to Tynecastle as devastation set in. A Copa 90 online documentary launching today brings it all back. Some Hearts fans won’t wish to relive it, understandably.

For anyone viewing this Sunday’s fixture at Celtic Park with dread, it is a vital part of the healing process. Cathartic, perhaps, for Hearts to revisit Glasgow with a rebuilt team and renewed vigour. Wouter Vrancken replaced Derek McInnes in June and has implemented a brand of football fans are enjoying. Like McInnes, he won’t be scared of travelling along the M8. He won’t park the bus and hope for the best. His team will, if nothing else, attack Celtic.

Therein lies the positive, if there is one, to emerge from the events of 16 May. Hearts have come out fighting despite last season’s injustices. Some observers felt at the time that they would crumble, that this was their one and only chance to win the league, that mentally they would suffer a hangover. Tynecastle officials don’t see it that way. Tony Bloom doesn’t see it that way. His ambition for the club won’t be derailed simply because they fell short at the first attempt.

More players have been signed to continue challenging for leagues and cups. Hearts are currently third in the Premiership, in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final and enjoying European football in the UEFA Conference League. Last season was just the beginning. No-one has forgotten, but they are driven to create new history by overwriting bad memories with good ones.