Hearts have issued a statement over a song played over their PA system during an Open Day at Tynecastle arranged by Foundation of Hearts.
Almost £13m has been raised in seven years by the fan group which allowed the club to achieve a CVA and avoid the humiliation of liquidation.
The Open Day should have been an occasion to celebrate but someone inside the club decided that playing The Sash would be appropriate.
Who was behind that decision and how they got access to the PA system hasn’t been disclosed in the club statement.
This morning they announced:
Heart of Midlothian wishes to address an incident that took place at Tynecastle Park on Sunday. The stadium hosted the Foundation of Hearts’ Open Day, which celebrated the phenomenal milestone of Hearts becoming the biggest fan-owned football club in the UK.
Despite the weather, a wonderful day was had by thousands of fans who got to explore Tynecastle, going behind the scenes and visiting areas of the stadium that are rarely seen.
During the day’s festivities, an incident occurred whereby a song was played over the PA system. The song in question has no connection to Hearts and it has no place at Tynecastle. As soon as the club was made aware of the issue the PA system was switched off, the incident investigated and swiftly concluded. Club officials apologised at the time to those inside the stadium who brought the matter to their attention.
The club would now like to further extend that apology to our wider fanbase after videos of the incident were shared on social media. Procedures have already been implemented that will ensure such an incident is never repeated.
The FoH Open Day was an extremely proud occasion for the club and we would like to, once again, thank our supporters who continue to back every aspect of the club in tremendous fashion. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to Gorgie for this Saturday’s cinch Premiership encounter with Dundee United.
In 2011 Neil Lennon was attacked in the dug-out by a Hearts fan with thousands of other cheering the incident after the fan had wandered along the touchline in front of the Main Stand.