HOTLINE callers joined condemnation of the Buckfast bottle balloon at Easter Road.
Saturday night’s Scottish Cup tie between Hibs and Celtic was overshadowed by someone throwing the glass object towards Hoops winger Scott Sinclair during the second half.
Players, management and Hibs immediately slaughtered the behaviour of the moron but it wasn’t just the culprit who came under fire.
Colin Rafferty emailed: “I cannot believe the stewards at Hibs. At any other ground the stewards spread out and face the fans.
“At Hibs, they all seem to huddle in a corner and watch the match. No wonder the idiots feel safe in chucking bottles.” John Davidson, Armadale, said: “Those were disgraceful scenes at Easter Road on Saturday with bottles and coins getting thrown at players. What is the mentality of these individuals?
“A football player’s career is short enough without being maimed by some idiot on the terraces.” Scott Thomas, Ayrshire, is not impressed by the failure of the footballing authorities to clamp down on the recent spate of bad behaviour.
He said: “When is Neil Doncaster going to take action against sectarianism, the chanting and people throwing objects affecting footballers who are only doing their jobs?” Robert Hunter, Dumfries, didn’t seem impressed the statement released by Hibs in the wake of the incident. The club said two bottles had been thrown, one from each set of supporters.
He said: “Got to love Hibs’ defence of the bottle-throwing incident. But they did it too! Kind of missing the point.”
On the pitch, Celtic stormed into the semi-finals and
Peter Conroy, Glasgow, said: “What a start for Neil Lennon. Two big games and two wins. Give him the gig.”
Rangers and Aberdeen fought out a 1-1 draw at Pittodrie and Ibrox supporter Robert McClelland,
Motherwell, said: “It wasn’t the best game but, given our season was on the line, it was a good fightback to get a replay.”
But Archie Daly, Dundee, wasn’t impressed by Alfredo Morelos, who had an off-the-ball kick at Andrew Considine.
He said: “What was the wee man thinking? If he’d been given a second yellow card for that, Steven Gerrard would have hammered him and his team-mates would have been within their rights to do the same thing. Will he ever learn?”
Elsewhere, we got a nice message from a punter who was at Albion Rovers’ 1-1 draw against Berwick.
Carl Smith, Bingley, West Yorkshire, said: “I’m a Celtic fan and headed north to lend my support to Albion Rovers against Berwick and my experience of a game at that level was exhilarating.
“Players of both clubs displayed a degree of integrity and sportsmanship that would put multi-millionaire superstars in the EPL and SPFL to shame.
“I saw rough-looking tackles where the players immediately got back on their feet, no feigning injury or diving. The dedication and commitment was highly impressive and most of these lads will be back to their day jobs on Monday morning.
“I thoroughly enjoyed every minute at Cliftonhill except for when Berwick equalised and I do hope Albion Rovers retain their league status at the end of the season.” In a period of madness in the Scottish game, it’s nice to see the football still gets some people talking.