Hearts have expressed concern that a “troubling precedent” was set after their Scottish Premiership title decider against Celtic was ended early following a pitch invasion.

The Edinburgh club confirmed on Wednesday that they had written to Scottish football authorities regarding what they described as “the circumstances surrounding the premature ending of the match.”

Callum Osmand’s stoppage-time winner secured Celtic a 3-1 win on Saturday and confirmed the title for the Glasgow club.

Moments after the goal, hundreds of Celtic supporters flooded onto the pitch as celebrations erupted, forcing Hearts players to leave the field quickly.

Hearts Question Early Conclusion of Match

Although eight minutes of stoppage time had been indicated, the match appeared to end before the full period had elapsed.

The Scottish Professional Football League later clarified that the referee considered the game finished rather than abandoned.

In a statement, Hearts said they were concerned about the implications of the incident.

“Our concern is that a troubling precedent has been set whereby a pitch invasion can effectively determine the duration of a football match, rather than the match officials,” the club said.

“We have asked them for a prompt response to the points we have raised.”

The defeat denied Hearts a first Scottish league title since 1960, while Celtic secured their fifth consecutive championship and 14th in the last 15 seasons.

Hearts also urged the authorities to treat the pitch invasion seriously and criticised comments made by former Celtic manager Martin O’Neill earlier this week.

Speaking on talkSPORT, O’Neill described suggestions that the scenes embarrassed Scottish football as “nonsense” and claimed there had been “a lot of hyperbole” surrounding the reaction.

The 74-year-old stopped short of condemning supporters who entered the field.

In response, Hearts released a strongly worded statement.

“We are aware of highly irresponsible comments made publicly this week, which appear to seek to defend those who entered the pitch on Saturday and undermine the gravity of the situation,” the statement read.

“Those remarks carry dangerous implications, and we call upon the football authorities to ensure that this matter is addressed with the seriousness it demands, and with the full cooperation of all involved.”