The Scottish Football Association (SFA) has finally broken its silence on the fallout from last weekend's title decider, releasing audio that reveals Hearts boss Derek McInnes was 'happy for the game to finish'. Hearts had contacted the SFA and SPFL on Wednesday seeking answers about a match they felt had finished prematurely. There were approximately 30 seconds remaining, plus any further stoppages, when Celtic striker Callum Osmand scored to make it 3-1 and clinch the league title.
However, the audio, released on Thursday night, makes it clear that referee Don Robertson and fourth official David Dickinson knew that Hearts were content to call it a day. Especially amid a mass pitch invasion, the instruction from McInnes was to get the Hearts players off the field as soon as possible. In the audio, an official tells Robertson: 'Hearts are happy to finish. Derek McInnes has told me they are happy to finish.' The audio continued: 'They [Hearts] want their players off the pitch.'
The SFA insists that Robertson 'clearly communicated that the match was ended and not abandoned', albeit there was no final whistle. The governing body also said the game had ended seven seconds more than the minimum additional time of eight minutes signalled.
SFA Statement
The SFA statement last night read: 'We note the contents of Heart of Midlothian's statement yesterday and accompanying letter signed by the club Chair, Calum Paterson. In the interests of transparency, we are happy to set out the facts. Regarding references to a 'premature ending of the match', the Scottish FA's Chief Governance Officer, Gary Booth, the Head of Refereeing, William Collum, and VAR Manager Martin Atkinson reviewed the audio-visual footage of the period in question on Monday at the club's request, with Mr Paterson in attendance.'
'While it was the agreed intention for this meeting to be conducted privately, recent statements have compelled us to consider the public interest in providing clarification and chronology. To that end, we are happy to publish the relevant audio-visual footage.'
'It was made clear at that meeting that the match official, Don Robertson, took the correct action in ending the game. We note there has been speculation regarding the blowing of a final whistle. The Laws of the Game require the referee to signal the end of the match, but do not prescribe the method of that signal.'
'In the context of what unfolded - which is verified by the footage and the Match Incident Report submitted to the Scottish FA - the match official clearly communicated that the match was ended and not abandoned. In addition, the match clock does not stop when a goal is scored. The footage shows that when the match official confirms the game has ended, the clock is at 53.07 [98.07], more than the minimum additional time of eight minutes signalled.'
'It was also apparent from the audio that this decision was taken following dialogue with the Hearts Head Coach, who had intimated concerns over player safety. For the avoidance of doubt, Law 5 of the IFAB Laws of the Game state that 'the decisions of the referee regarding facts connected with play are final'. We fully support the decisive action taken by Don Robertson and his team to end the game.'
