Hearts’ Lawrence Shankland made Hibernian fans swallow their jeers when he caught a pie hurled at him after he scored a penalty, took a bite and threw it back.
His manager, Steven Naismith, later condemned the “idiots” who threw a host of objects at the striker – reportedly including a bottle opener, a lighter and a pair of Apple AirPods – as he waited to take Hearts’ equalising penalty in their 1-1 Scottish Premiership draw at home to Hibs.
Hearts’ top scorer had to hold his nerve before taking his spot-kick as just before half-time after items rained down on him from the stand housing Hibernian’s fans behind the goal.
🥧 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝘀?
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) February 29, 2024
Hearts' Lawrence Shankland caught a pie thrown from Hibernian fans after he scored a penalty in the Edinburgh derby, then threw it back! ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/mFWWiMsWXP
Shankland was struck by more objects when defending a corner later in the game, while Hibs’ goalscorer Emiliano Marcondes was also hit by an item thrown from the Hearts end.
Naismith said: “I think it was everything that was in everyone’s pockets, whether it be coins, vapes or whatever. All the stuff getting launched on, it’s just not acceptable.
“If that then gets looked at, what’s going to happen is they are just going to reduce the amount of fans that can go into that stand and that’s going to impact what I think is a good atmosphere, a good derby which has a fierce rivalry. It’s just idiots that are going to spoil the party for everybody. It’s just not good enough, end of.”
Shankland’s penalty – contentiously awarded after Hearts forward Kenneth Vargas went down while trying to get away from Will Fish – just before the break cancelled out Marcondes’s 27th-minute opener.
