The Scottish FA have released audio they say proves referee Don Robertson was right to end Celtic’s title decider with Heart of Midlothian, after speaking with Derek McInnes.
Callum Osmand rolled in the goal to make it 3-1 with around 30 seconds of the minimum eight minutes of added time remaining at Parkhead. Both managers later claimed they had been told there was roughly a minute left to play.
Scottish FA Statement | Celtic v Heart of Midlothian
— Scottish FA (@ScottishFA) May 21, 2026
But with hundreds of Celtic fans flooding the pitch and Hearts players being ushered to safety, Robertson brought the match to a close without a restart.
The visitors subsequently claimed the match had been ended “prematurely”, but the SFA have now moved to clarify the situation by publishing the relevant audio and footage, which proved Hearts and McInnes were happy for the match to be finished.
In a statement, the governing body said: “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.”
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The SFA insisted the footage confirms Robertson acted correctly in ending the game, rather than abandoning it.
“It was made clear at that meeting that the match official, Don Robertson, took the correct action in ending the game,” the statement continued.
“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.”
The governing body also pointed to the match clock, which showed the required time had been played. “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,” the SFA added.
They also confirmed Robertson’s decision followed a conversation with the Heart of Midlothian dugout. “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.”
The statement concluded: “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.”
