{"id":34238,"date":"2026-05-22T01:39:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T01:39:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/celtic-vs-hearts-var-audio-released-in-big-twist-for-abandoned-match-soccer-sports\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T01:39:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T01:39:38","slug":"celtic-vs-hearts-var-audio-released-in-big-twist-for-abandoned-match-soccer-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/celtic-vs-hearts-var-audio-released-in-big-twist-for-abandoned-match-soccer-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Celtic vs Hearts VAR audio released in big twist for &#8216;Abandoned Match&#8217; | Soccer | Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"photo changeSpace\">\n<p class=\"withoutCaption\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/590x\/secondary\/6935070.jpg?r=1779398253335\" alt=\"Heart of Midlothian manager Derek McInnes reacted during the William Hill Premiership match.\" title=\"Heart of Midlothian manager Derek McInnes reacted during the William Hill Premiership match.\" width=\"590\" height=\"393\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"newsCaption\">Derek McInnes was caught on microphone. <span class=\"caption\">(Image: Getty Images)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>The SFA released VAR audio that contradicted Hearts&#8217; claims, revealing that Derek McInnes was satisfied with the title-clinching defeat to Celtic being settled. Celtic supporters flooded the pitch as Callum Osmund scored in stoppage time to secure a 3-1 victory over Hearts and lift the Premiership trophy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p data-mce-linkchecker-status=\"valid\">Tynecastle players were ushered through a tunnel to safety after reports of being &#8220;assaulted&#8221; and left the ground in their kits before the Hoops team celebrated their victory. It was unclear whether referee Don Robertson had blown his whistle to signal the end of the match, leading to speculation that the match had been abandoned.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>However, in response to Hearts&#8217; statement on Wednesday, the SFA has now released the VAR exchange and the timing of the incident showing the match had reached the 98th minute.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Express sports on FB! Get all the best sports news and more on our Facebook page<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>The audio reveals this exchange.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>VAR: &#8220;Don, this is Kevin (Clancy). I&#8217;m confirming that the goal has been called on the field.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>A fourth source said: &#8220;Blow the whistle. Hearts are happy to finish the Dons. Hearts are happy to finish too. Derek McInnes tells me he&#8217;s happy they can finish. They want the players sent off. Are you done yet?&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Don Robertson: &#8220;Okay, it&#8217;s over. Kevin, game&#8217;s over, okay?&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>VAR: &#8220;We&#8217;re confirming that the match has finished and are watching some of the footage.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"photo changeSpace\">\n<p class=\"withoutCaption\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/590x\/secondary\/6935073.jpg?r=1779398257951\" alt=\"Celtic interim manager Martin O'Neill thanks fans after winning William Hill Premier League\" title=\"Celtic interim manager Martin O'Neill thanks fans after winning William Hill Premier League\" width=\"590\" height=\"393\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"newsCaption\">Martin O&#8217;Neill had the last laugh as champion. <span class=\"caption\">(Image: Getty Images)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>In a statement, the SFA said: &#8220;We take note of Heart of Midlothian&#8217;s statement yesterday and the accompanying letter signed by club chairman Callum Patterson. In the interest of transparency, we are happy to set the record straight.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;Regarding the reference to an &#8216;early end to the match&#8217;, the Scottish FA&#8217;s Chief Governance Officer Gary Booth, Director of Referees William Collum and VAR Manager Martin Atkinson reviewed the audiovisual footage from the relevant period on Monday, at the club&#8217;s request, in the presence of Mr Patterson.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>\u201cAlthough it was the agreed intention that this meeting would take place in private, recent statements compel us to consider the public interest in providing an explanation and chronology.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;To that end, we are happy to release the relevant audiovisual footage. At that meeting, it was clear that match official Don Robertson took the correct action in ending the match.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;We note that there is speculation regarding the blowing of the final whistle. The competition rules require the referee to signal the end of the match, but do not specify how that signal should be given.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;In the context of what happened, as evidenced by the footage and the Match Incident Report submitted to the Scottish Football Association, match officials clearly communicated that the match was finished, not abandoned.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;Furthermore, the game clock does not stop when a goal is scored. By the time the match referee confirmed the game was over, the clock had read 53.07 seconds (98.07 seconds), which was over the eight minutes of minimum overtime required, the video shows.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;It was also clear from the audio that this decision was taken following a conversation with the Hearts head coach, who expressed concerns about player safety.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;For the avoidance of doubt, Article 5 of the IFAB Laws of the Game states that &#8220;the decision of the referee on the facts relevant to the play is final.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>\u201cWe fully support the decisive action taken by Don Robertson and his team to end the game.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>World Cup Legends: The stars of soccer&#8217;s biggest tournament in history &#8211; buy the special edition now<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/sport\/football\/2208381\/Celtic-Hearts-VAR-audio-abandon-match\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Derek McInnes was caught on microphone. (Image: Getty Images) The SFA released VAR audio that contradicted Hearts&#8217; claims, revealing that Derek McInnes was satisfied with the title-clinching defeat to Celtic being settled. Celtic supporters flooded the pitch as Callum Osmund scored in stoppage time to secure a 3-1 victory over Hearts and lift the Premiership<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-34238","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-matches"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Celtic vs Hearts VAR audio released in big twist for &#039;Abandoned Match&#039; | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/celtic-vs-hearts-var-audio-released-in-big-twist-for-abandoned-match-soccer-sports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Celtic vs Hearts VAR audio released in big twist for &#039;Abandoned Match&#039; | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Derek McInnes was caught on microphone. (Image: Getty Images) The SFA released VAR audio that contradicted Hearts&#8217; claims, revealing that Derek McInnes was satisfied with the title-clinching defeat to Celtic being settled. Celtic supporters flooded the pitch as Callum Osmund scored in stoppage time to secure a 3-1 victory over Hearts and lift the Premiership\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/celtic-vs-hearts-var-audio-released-in-big-twist-for-abandoned-match-soccer-sports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-22T01:39:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/590x\/secondary\/6935070.jpg?r=1779398253335\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin_ok9yktt6\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin_ok9yktt6\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/celtic-vs-hearts-var-audio-released-in-big-twist-for-abandoned-match-soccer-sports\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/celtic-vs-hearts-var-audio-released-in-big-twist-for-abandoned-match-soccer-sports\/\",\"name\":\"Celtic vs Hearts VAR audio released in big twist for 'Abandoned Match' | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/celtic-vs-hearts-var-audio-released-in-big-twist-for-abandoned-match-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/celtic-vs-hearts-var-audio-released-in-big-twist-for-abandoned-match-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6935072.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-22T01:39:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/celtic-vs-hearts-var-audio-released-in-big-twist-for-abandoned-match-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/celtic-vs-hearts-var-audio-released-in-big-twist-for-abandoned-match-soccer-sports\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/celtic-vs-hearts-var-audio-released-in-big-twist-for-abandoned-match-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6935072.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6935072.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/celtic-vs-hearts-var-audio-released-in-big-twist-for-abandoned-match-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Celtic vs Hearts VAR audio released in big twist for &#8216;Abandoned Match&#8217; | Soccer | Sports\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/\",\"name\":\"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\",\"description\":\"EPL VIP is your ultimate source for all things related to the English Premier League. 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