Budge Urges Celtic To Act

Photo by Jeff Holmes Hearts owner Ann Budge has called for Celtic to take "appropriate action" against five of their supporters who were arrested for sectarian abuse at Sunday's William Hill Scottish Cup tie at Tynecastle. The police report in the wake of the controversial fourth-round tie confirmed that one Hearts supporter was arrested at the match for sectarian abuse. Budge said in a club statement on Wednesday that behaviour is "unacceptable and dangerous" and stressed in line with her previous statement of zero tolerance that any individual found guilty will not be allowed back into the stadium. And she also called on Celtic to act against five individuals who were arrested for similar sectarian abuse. "The same police report confirms that five Celtic supporters were arrested for sectarian abuse, coin throwing and disorderly behaviour," Budge said in a statement posted on the official Hearts website. "I hope that Celtic will take appropriate action against those individuals who let them down. "Certainly, at Hearts, we will do everything in our power to ensure they are never again allowed into Tynecastle." Budge said she was disgusted by the behaviour of visiting supporters during a tie which Celtic comfortably won 4-0 following the early dismissal of Hearts captain Morgaro Gomis. She also said she plans to take up the matter with the relevant authorities, saying officials and police appeared "to take little or no action" in response to supporters' misbehaviour. "I was appalled at the vandalism carried out by our visiting supporters on Sunday," Budge said. "Having recently spent significant sums to replace broken seats in the Roseburn Stand, for the benefit, primarily, of our away supporters, I was hugely disappointed to witness the destruction of close to 100 seats. "Similarly, the graffiti on walls, tiles, doors - basically all types of surfaces - was quite disgraceful and this is not to mention the damage to toilets. "I have discussed all of these matters with members of the Celtic executive and we are working co-operatively to address the issues. "No club should be on the receiving end of such unacceptable behaviour and no club should be put in the position of having to defend such behaviour. "The most distressing emails/reports I have received are of intimidation both to fans and to staff from away fans. "Everyone gets frustrated when officials and police appear to take little or no action. "This is something I will discuss with the authorities but as many of us know, their response is very often influenced by a need not to further inflame a situation. "The only real answer is to try to remove those people who cause the problems and who spoil the whole experience for so many others." Budge said she had received substantial correspondence from concerned parents saying their "traumatised" children would be unlikely to return to Tynecastle after Sunday's events. "I was pleased to learn that approximately 20 per cent of the Hearts supporters on Sunday were youths," Budge said. "This is fantastic evidence that we are appealing to the family. "The not so good news is that I have received a number of emails/letters from parents stating that their children were terrified/had to be removed part way through the game/were traumatised - and as such would be unlikely ever to want to return to a game. This is appalling. "OK. These letters relate to a tiny proportion of the 12,000-plus crowd. The number is unimportant. "We want to be a family-oriented club, offering a thoroughly enjoyable matchday experience for both sets of supporters - in a safe and non-threatening environment. "I promise that this current management team will do everything in its power to try to make this happen. "This includes taking action against our own supporters who let the side down; vigorously pressing other clubs to be accountable for the actions of their supporters and where necessary petitioning the authorities to take appropriate action. "For this to work, we need to do everything in our power to ensure our opposition on the day also enjoys the experience of coming to Tynecastle. "Friendly banter is acceptable - some might even say desirable - threatening and intimidating behaviour between supporters is not. "However, we also need our visiting fans to behave accordingly. Based on emails and communications received into the club it would seem both sets of supporters had cause for complaint on Sunday."

Celtic replied with their own statement, saying: "As recent years have shown, the fixture between Heart of Midlothian and Celtic at Tynecastle Stadium has become a difficult one. This follows various incidents, including an attack on the Celtic manager and continued sectarian abuse directed at Celtic management, staff and players. "Celtic representatives met with Ann Budge and her executive team yesterday and were made aware of particular issues which arose at the match on Sunday. "In addition to these issues, missiles were thrown into the Celtic support, a Celtic supporter sustained injuries at the match after being hit with coins, and sectarian abuse was again directed at Celtic staff and players. We are also aware of a home supporter again attempting to enter the field of play at Tynecastle, this time to approach one of our players. "We are addressing these matters with Heart of Midlothian and welcome the desire of Ann Budge to seek a positive and enjoyable matchday experience for all football supporters at Tynecastle. We look forward to working with her to achieve this.'' The club added: "It is very important to note that the vast majority of Celtic supporters and Scottish football supporters behave impeccably at matches. With regards to the reported incidents at the match on Sunday, we would like to reiterate that any form of offensive or inappropriate behaviour is contrary to our core values and the club will deal with those responsible in the appropriate manner. "We share the concerns expressed by Ann Budge and her aim to eradicate all forms of offensive behaviour from Scottish football. We can assure Heart of Midlothian that we will be pleased to continue to co-operate with them fully to ensure that all issues from this match concerning both sets of supporters are addressed.''