Hearts call for 'fair opportunity' in title finale

Hearts' 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 announced that Don Robertson will take charge of Saturday's decider with Celtic, the Foundation of Hearts (FoH) fans group - majority shareholders of the club - said 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".

Figure caption,

A huge moment in the Scottish Premiership title race

"That this has occurred at such a crucial stage of the season is particularly disappointing," the statement read.

"We understand the club shares these concerns and has made representations to the authorities seeking clarification."

In Saturday's 1-1 draw at Motherwell, Hearts had two penalty claims turned down, the second one after referee Steven McLean had gone to the monitor to review it.

Manager McInnes raised the incident with head of refereeing Willie Collum and was "satisfied" he "was in agreement" with the Tynecastle club.

In Sunday's 3-1 home win for Celtic over Rangers, the hosts' Alistair Johnston was booked for a first-half challenge on Mikey Moore, with some pundits suggesting it should have been a red card.

Rangers head coach Danny Rohl indicated they would be raising that and Celtic's first goal, citing a similar incident in Rangers' December win over Motherwell in which the Ibrox side had a goal disallowed for offside.

Mallon added: "At a time when Scottish football is subject to heightened scrutiny, it is important that confidence in officiating standards is maintained.

"We therefore call on those responsible for the officiating of Saturday's match to ensure that the highest standards of decision-making are applied, so that the game is decided by the players on the pitch and the team is given the fair opportunity it has earned."