Hibs' board to crack down on hooligans after pitch invasion

17 Sep 1990

DIRECTORS of Hibernian Football Club will have talks with Lothian and Borders Police this week after the scenes which marred the club's match against city rivals Hearts at Easter Road on Saturday.

There were 36 arrests and 17 people were treated for injuries at the Dunbar end of the ground, in separate incidents, initially sparked off when a spectator ran on to the pitch following a 15-minute goal by Hearts striker John Robertson.

Another fan followed from the Hearts enclosure and police and stewards moved in to arrest both men from the ensuing melee which involved players from both clubs.

Players and officials left the park for eight minutes as an announcement warned the 16,500 spectators the game would not restart until the crowd had settled down.

Further trouble started at half-time, when fans again spilled on to the touchline at the same end of the ground.

At Edinburgh Sheriff Court tomorrow, 24 people arrested on a number of public disorder offences will appear from custody.

They have been detained an extra 24 hours because of the public holiday in Edinburgh today.

The other 12, detained on minor offences, were allowed bail and will be ordained to appear at a later date.

A police spokesman said yesterday they were "extremely disappointed and concerned" about the fans' behaviour.

Scottish League President Mr Jack Steedman has promised an inquiry will be held after reports have been received from the referee, his linesmen, and the match supervisor who attended the game, won 3-0 by Hearts on their first visit to Easter Road since the takeover attempt by their chairman Mr Wallace Mercer during the summer.

Mr Mercer, reported in a television interview at the weekend to have felt ultimately responsible for creating the atmosphere at the game, was not available for further comment at his Edinburgh home yesterday.

Hibernian chief executive Mr James Gray said he was very disappointed some supporters had chosen to disregard the good name of their clubs for the sake of "exhibitionism".

He added: "Our board will be discussing the events and we shall be having talks with the police this week.

"We must look at the behaviour of certain people at this game and reinforce the view that the clubs will not stand for it.

"There is no doubt we must also look at ways in which we can take further action against supporters for misbehaviour.

"It is not right that people work hard to bring people into football and find themselves faced with problems like this."

His club had arranged a special welcome for the fans before the game, sending on ball boys and ball girls from nearby St Ninian's School, to wave bouquets from the centre circle before presenting them to supporters of both clubs in the family enclosures.

"We all suffered the same emotional stress and most succeeded in controlling it," he added.

"We did not want to 'overhype' the day and thought it would be a good idea to have the children come on to the park, presenting flowers as a welcome to supporters of both clubs, simply to express the view that it was good to have football between Hibs and Hearts."

Police anticipating problems at the match, had cancelled weekend leave for some officers, drafting in additional personnel from outside the city.

They later segregated fans leaving the ground and stepped up patrols of the city centre, but there were no further incidents.

A Scottish Ambulance Service senior official said the situation during the game was "very volatile", with all ambulances in the area on stand-by.

Taken from the Herald