Hearts send 'donation' to Hamilton Accies after pyro incident in Scottish Cup clash

Hearts have made a donation to Hamilton Accies after a smoke bomb was thrown onto the pitch during last Friday’s Scottish Cup match at New Douglas Park.

Chief executive Andrew McKinlay revealed a £3,000 payment was sent to the Lanarkshire club after the pyrotechnic caused damage to the synthetic surface during the 2-0 victory for the away side.

He reminded supporters of previous incidents earlier this season which hit club finances and asked for them to refrain from bringing such items into grounds in future.

“To take last week’s game at Hamilton into isolation, the atmosphere created by our fans on Friday night was incredible. There were, unfortunately, some needless scenes created by the throwing of pyrotechnics onto the pitch,” he said in a statement.

The smoke bomb thrown on to the pitch at New Douglas Park during Hearts' Scottish Cup win over Hamilton Accies. Picture: SNS

“It would be remiss of me not to point out that this is unacceptable, and these incidents caused considerable damage to Accies’ synthetic surface.

“Such was the damage to the pitch and to some seats in the away section, the club has donated £3,000 to Hamilton’s youth academy both by way of apology and as a gesture of goodwill.

“The use of pyro has also seen us fined by UEFA this season and as such, I must implore fans not to bring these dangerous items to any Hearts game.”

McKinlay also made sure to herald the incredible backing the club has seen from its supporters this season as it continues to thrive in the cinch Premiership. The dream of playing two consecutive seasons in the group stages of European football is drawing closer with the team roared on by a sell-out crowd almost every week.

The damage on the synthetic pitch at New Douglas Park after the pyrotechnic was removed. Picture: SNS

It’s also meant a lengthy waiting list for supporters wishing to buy season tickets despite over 15,000 being made available at the beginning of the campaign.

“In Gorgie we have, to date, seen attendances totalling more than 315,000. It is not unreasonable to think that with the number of home games we have remaining, we could hit around the 450,000 mark come the end of the season,” he said.

“Those are the supporters who have watched us, then there are those fans who want to watch us. Currently, the season ticket waiting list stands at more than 3,500. With more than 15,500 season ticket holders already in place, I cannot think of another club in Scotland outside of Celtic and Rangers that has such demand.

“These figures simply point to the continued commitment of Hearts supporters to travel near and far – by bus and car, some may say – to back this club to the hilt and it is greatly appreciated. The players regularly comment on how much of a help the atmosphere is at Tynecastle and the huge numbers of fans that journey to away games often make visiting grounds feel like home and this is of huge benefit to Robbie Neilson and his first team.

“On behalf of everyone at Hearts, I thank you for your support and we all look forward to experiencing a sea of maroon at every game from now until the end of the season.”

Message from the editor

Thank you for reading this article. If you haven't already, please consider supporting our sports coverage with a digital sports subscription.