Hearts call for ‘fair opportunity’ in title finaleImage source, SNSImage caption, Hearts fans watch the closing stages of Celtic’s match at MotherwellByGeorge O’NeillBBC Sport ScotlandPublished14 May 2026Hearts’ owners have pleaded for the destination of the Scottish Premiership title to be “decided by the players on the pitch” rather than by match officials.After it was unveiled that Don Robertson will take charge of Saturday’s decider with Celtic, the Foundation of Hearts (FoH) fans group – majority shareholders of the club – mentioned the Tynecastle outfit had concerns about recent decisions.On Wednesday, Celtic were awarded contentious last-gasp penalty, which Kelechi Iheanacho converted to earn the defending champions a 3-2 victory.
That result, coupled with Hearts’ 3-0 win over Falkirk, means Celtic trail by one point going into the final-day showdown.
Robertson will be aided by assistant referees Calum Spence and David Roome, while Kevin Clancy and assistant Matthew MacDermid will be the VAR officials.
FoH chairman Gerry Mallon has called for “the highest standards of decision-making” so that the destination of the title is “decided by the players on the pitch and the team is given the fair opportunity it has earned”.
In a statement on behalf of the foundation, Mallon congratulated Hearts and Derek McInnes “on their outstanding achievements in this momentous season”.
But he added they had been “extremely concerned by a number of refereeing and VAR decisions across the last two rounds of fixtures”.
