Hearts to close section of Tynecastle after fan misbehaviour
- Published
Watch: Flares thrown from stands at Edinburgh derby
Hearts will close a section of Tynecastle for the final two home games of the season in an attempt to curb fan misbehaviour.
Pyrotechnics, coins, hot drinks and a coconut were thrown on to the pitch during Saturday's defeat by Hibernian.
A man has been charged with a hate crime after another incident, and there were three further arrests.
In a statement,, external Hearts owner Ann Budge said a lower section G of the Wheatfield Stand will be closed.
Budge apologised to "innocent" fans who will be affected and said that "close to 200" season-ticket holders in that section would be offered seats elsewhere.
In December, Hearts wrote to season-ticket holders in an area of the main stand threatening closure. They have closed corner sections of the Roseburn Stand for recent matches.
Hearts have also committed to spending £100,000 to upgrade their CCTV system this summer.
"I have said before we will continue to take action to drive this behaviour out of Tynecastle and I know that I have the support of all fair-minded Hearts supporters in our efforts," she wrote.
"Every single instance could have resulted in injury and, in the case of the pyrotechnics, this did result in damage to the pitch - a pitch which, with the financial support of our fans, we have recently put down at a cost of £1m. Why would our own fans want to damage this? It beggars belief.
"That we are having to reduce available capacity when we have worked so hard to increase it through building our new stand is nothing short of ludicrous. As ludicrous as having spent £1m on a state-of-the-art pitch, which some of our own fans are willing to risk destroying."
Budge also criticised "an appalling example of racist abuse" by a Hearts supporter, reports of "sectarian comments" being made by home fans, and claims of Hearts players "being racially abused" by Hibs fans.
"Just because it happens both ways, that in no way condones it," added Budge, who confirmed that four of the club's supporters were ejected and three arrested.
"Stadium rules have for years listed many forms of unacceptable behaviour and yet this behaviour goes on and is seemingly on the increase. So simply listing what is unacceptable is not enough. We have to work together to stamp out these unacceptable behaviours. The government, the police, the football authorities, the clubs, the supporters… we all have a part to play."
Budge asked fans to text the club confidentially to report incidents of unacceptable behaviour on the Fan Reporting Service number, which can be found on the club website.
Hearts should be hard on fans - Levein
'A coconut was thrown... but what next?' - reaction
Former Hearts captain Gary Locke on Sportsound
I don't think it will have been done lightly. We're getting a bad reputation through this and we need to make a stand. All it does is costs Hearts as a club because rather than spending on the squad, we're having to pay fines and to repair the pitch. We have to eradicate it - this is the first step, and hopefully the last step.
Former Hibernian manager John Hughes on Sportsound
Is it a moron, or a group of morons? It scares me that they are using football as a platform to try and out-do each other. We saw a coconut thrown on Saturday, but what's next?