Arrests made after goalkeeper punched in face, manager hit by flying coin in wild Scottish derby
As worldwide soccer derbies go, the Edinburgh derby between Scottish clubs Hearts and Hibernian doesn’t have the repute of its more marquee, cash-flush brethren.
A few fans took steps this week to grow its notoriety. Or something.
Five arrests were made following Wednesday’s scoreless draw between the rival sides, and boy did they ever earn their bookings.
Per Scottish Football Association Chief Executive Ian Maxwell, via a Sky Sports report, both assistant referees were hit with flying objects during the heated affair, understood to be cigarette lighters and coffee cups.
That’s just the start of it.
Hearts goalkeeper Zdenek Zlamal was allegedly punched in the face by a Hibernian fan while trying to retrieve a ball for a goal kick in the 67th minute. Later on, Hearts appeared to have scored a game-winning goal in stoppage time, only to have it ruled offside.
In a moment of judgment he’d surely like to have back, Hibernian manager Neil Lennon decided to troll the Hearts crowd about it, and he paid for it with a coin right to the face.
You can see both incidents here, with Zlamal’s first and Lennon’s around the 51-second mark:
Hearts sits atop the Scottish Premiership table with 26 points, while Hibernian sits fifth with 18, albeit having played one fewer game.
This is probably much ado about nothing, since no team outside of the duopoly of Celtic and Rangers has won Scotland since 1985, with Celtic having captured the last seven titles thanks to Rangers’ financial implosion. Sláinte Mhath!
Joey Gulino is the editor of FC Yahoo and moonlights as a writer. Follow him on Twitter at @JGulinoYahoo.
