Budge: Parts of Tynecastle will remain closed
Hearts owner Ann Budge has confirmed that part of Tynecastle will remain closed for clashes with Hibs and the Old Firm.
The Gorgie outfit took the decision to shut l ower se c t i o n G , w h i c h accommodates around 200 fans, in the Wheatfield stand following trouble in April’s derby visit of Hibs.
Pyrotechnics were thrown from that area, causing damage to the £ 1- million hybrid pitch, while coins, hot drinks and a coconut were also launched during the loss to their city rivals.
The area was closed for the last two home games ( against Rangers and Kilmarnock) at the end of last season and Budge admits those measures will remain in place for category- A matches against their Leith counterparts and Celtic and Rangers.
She said: “We have closed corner sections – that will remain in place because it helped.
“We closed some of our own sections where we had trouble. These are open again. But if we have the same sort of thing I will have to address it.”
Budge, meanwhile, reckons Scottish football could adopt UEFA’S “strict liability” policy in a bid to crack down on supporter misbehaviour.
Her views come after Rangers were ordered by UEFA to close part of Ibrox for Thursday’s Europa League visit of Legia Warsaw due to “racist behaviour – which includes sectarian singing”.
The penalty relates to the visit of Gibraltarian minnows St Joseph’s on July 18.
Budge added: “Everyone accepts that it is a common problem and we all have to do our bit.
“There is a willingness to tackle things. In the early years, I used to get frustrated when I heard: ‘ That’s the way you do it in football,’ and ‘ There’s no point trying to change it because it’s always been like that.’ I don’t hear that so much these days.”
“I think there is a genuine possibility, not a probability, that we would go down that route of strict liability.
“There are a number of working groups at the moment looking at these issues.
“The authorities are trying to protect the clubs to a certain extent. It has to be driven by the clubs, backed by the SFA and SPFL, but we need to look elsewhere.”