Celtic secured their 56th Premiership title after defeating Hearts 3-1 on the final day of the season at Celtic Park. The victory capped a dramatic title race, with Celtic coming from behind to win the trophy before a crowd of 60,000 supporters.
The match ended in shameful scenes when a pitch invasion following Celtic's third goal forced players off the field and brought an early end to proceedings. Visiting Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland required assistance to leave the pitch after appearing to be struck by a fan during the chaos.
Security staff intervened to stop supporters on the pitch while the majority of fans inside the stadium booed the pitch invaders. The incident follows previous trouble at the recent Old Firm fixture at Ibrox, where Celtic interim chairman Brian Wilson defended supporter celebrations as overexuberant.
Celtic Title Campaign Under Martin O'Neill
Celtic supporters displayed banners before kick-off declaring Celtic as the club for fairytales, featuring the face of 74-year-old manager Martin O'Neill on a pre-match tifo. O'Neill returned to management after being out of the game for six years while working in radio.
Former Celtic captain Scott Brown previously called for a statue of O'Neill to be built outside the stadium. O'Neill first took charge in October after receiving a call from major shareholder Dermot Desmond to succeed Brendan Rodgers, before returning a second time following Wilfried Nancy's spell.
Celtic overcame multiple setbacks during the campaign, including a 2-0 defeat at Dundee United in March. They also relied on a late midweek victory at Motherwell, where referee John Beaton awarded a controversial late penalty with the score tied 2-2 in added time.
First Half Goals and Penalty Decision
Hearts entered the final match leading the Premiership by one point as they chased their first league title since 1960. Manager Derek McInnes made surprising team selections, leaving player of the season Claudio Braga on the bench due to a niggling injury and starting Pierre Landry Kabore, while excluding midweek goalscorer Frankie Kent from defence.
Hearts focused on defensive structure and slowing down restarts to manage the home crowd. The first shot on target came in the 32nd minute when Seb Tounekti cut inside from the left flank, but goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow comfortably saved the low effort.
Hearts opened the scoring in the 43rd minute after a deep corner delivery from Kingsley reached the back post. Lawrence Shankland found space unmarked and headed into the net, before gesturing to the 752 away supporters and encouraging his teammates to maintain focus.
Celtic equalised two minutes into first-half stoppage time when Kieran Tierney sent a cross from the left wing. The ball struck the extended right arm of Alexandros Kyziridis after he had gone to ground, prompting referee Don Robertson to award a penalty.
VAR official Kevin Clancy reviewed and confirmed the decision. Arne Engels stepped up and placed a low penalty kick to Schwolow's left, finding the net despite the goalkeeper diving in the correct direction.
Second Half Adjustments and Late Winner
McInnes adjusted his formation early in the second half by introducing Kent for Altena to form a five-man defence. Hearts were forced into another change when Beni Baningime picked up a knock and was replaced by Blair Spittal, while defender Michael Steinwender played through multiple early knocks.
O'Neill made a tactical change at halftime, introducing Kelechi Iheanacho and moving Daizen Maeda out to the wing. McInnes responded in the 68th minute by sending on Braga for Kabore alongside substitutes Islam Chesnokov and Alan Forrest, while Celtic introduced Callum Osmand and Marcelo Saracchi.
Celtic pushed for a winning goal as Iheanacho struck the post with a sidefooted effort, and Benjamin Nygren forced a save from Schwolow following build-up play from Saracchi and Engels.
Celtic took the lead in the 88th minute when Saracchi passed to Osmand on the wing, who delivered a fast low cross for Maeda to turn home. The assistant referee initially raised an offside flag, but referee Robertson awarded the goal following a VAR review by Clancy.
The goal was Maeda's seventh in his past five matches. Maeda remained at Parkhead after a proposed transfer to Wolfsburg last summer fell through when Celtic failed to secure a replacement under their transfer policy.
Stoppage Time Goal and Post-Match Fallout
Hearts pushed all players forward searching for an equaliser in eighth minute of added time, allowing Osmand to break clear on a counter-attack and score Celtic's third goal to make it 3-1.
The final goal triggered the pitch invasion that brought an end to the match. Hearts had previously been denied two penalties and a win in their previous match against Motherwell, leaving McInnes' side without the title despite their campaign performance.
Celtic secured their 56th league title under O'Neill, while club authorities face scrutiny over supporter conduct following the pitch invasion at Celtic Park.