Scottish Championship side Heart of Midlothian Owner Ann Budge "has hit out at Celtic fans after 100 seats were destroyed during the Scottish Cup tie between the two teams," according to Matt Coyle of STV. Budge" made the comments following vandalism and arrests at Hearts' Tynecastle Stadium on Sunday." Seven Celtic supporters were arrested for alleged "sectarian abuse, coin throwing and disorderly behaviour." Budge said she was "hugely disappointed" after witnessing the "destruction of close to 100 seats." Her criticisms "also highlighted graffiti to walls, tiles, and door during the match" and branded the vandalism "disgraceful." She also called on Celtic "to take action against the fans who were responsible for the trouble" (STV, 12/3). The BBC reported Budge spoke to Celtic "about the incidents and plans to raise concerns with the police." Budge: "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." Budge admitted that only "a tiny proportion of the 12,000-plus crowd"
had been involved but promised a zero tolerance approach to those
causing problems (BBC, 12/3). The Scotland DAILY RECORD reported striker Anthony Stokes "hit back" at Budge. Five visiting supporters "were arrested for sectarian abuse and thuggish behaviour." Hoops striker Stokes took to Twitter, insisting that Budge should "worry about her own fans." He also insisted he had "never had so many sectarian comments" directed at him before. Budge also claimed that "the visiting support threatened home fans and members of the Hearts staff." Budge: "The most distressing emails/reports I have received are of intimidation both to fans and to staff from away fans" (DAILY RECORD, 12/3).
