Schoolgirl terrified by Celtic and Hibs fan fight at Premier Sports Cup Final

An angry father has blasted Hibernian Football Club after he and his 10-year-old daughter were forced to leave the Scottish League Cup final against Celtic early due to fights breaking out between fans.

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Thomas Heron took his daughter Maisie to Hampden Park to watch their team but he said he was shocked to find that the pair were surrounded by more than 100 Celtic supporters despite being having been seated in the Hibs end.

The concerned father said Celtic supporters were right up in his daughter’s face, giving her dirty looks and commenting on her Hibs hat.

Fans during the Premier Sports Cup Final.

“I am furious my daughter was put in that situation” he said. “I saw no police presents at all and it was a very worrying situation to be in.”

He said that a fight broke out after Celtic scored their winning goal on Sunday, taking the score to 2-1 at the 72nd minute.

Two men were seen hitting each other in the stand and several stewards had to intervene.

A group of 12 Celtic fans were then forced to leave the stadium after being accused of drinking heavily and singing offensive songs.

Thomas Heron and his daughter Maisie.

“After the second goal a fight broke out and we left as people were swearing and looking for a fight,” said Mr Heron.

“Maisie was really excited about the match but by the second goal she was pulling at me asking if we could leave.

“I asked a steward if we could be moved but was told no. Maisie was scared and teary so we left.”

Mr Heron blames the incident on Hibs, from whom he bought the tickets, and Hampden, who employ the stewards.

Maisie Heron

He said it is “totally unacceptable” for Celtic supporters to be sitting beside Hibs supporters without police monitoring the situation. He said the decision was “asking for trouble”.

Hibs are aware of the fight

A spokesperson from Hibs told the Evening News that they were aware of the fight and are working with Hampden Park to find out what went wrong.

The spokesperson said: “As part of the debrief process following all matches, we are currently in dialogue with Hampden Park.

“We are aware of an altercation in the Upper Section of the South Stands. Ticketing for such games is controlled via our database and where any ticket can be traced back to someone on the database, we will investigate how this ticket has been purchased and if necessary, take action to prevent future sales.

“Similarly, comments conveyed about stewarding and any failure to respond to incident raised by supporters will be similarly raised with Hampden Park for their own debrief with their Stewarding Contractor.”

Celtic F.C was also contacted for comment but did not reply.

Mr Heron and his daughter have been left very disappointed by the response from both clubs.

He said: “We are season ticket holders at Easter Road and spend hundreds of pounds of merchandise every year but the way we were treated by Hibs was very poor.

“They seem to be pushing the blame on the stewards, it’s very disappointing.”

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