Sunday 3 March 2019 09:28, UK
Neil Lennon and Paul Heckingbottom have condemned the throwing of a bottle from the crowd towards Scott Sinclair during Celtic's Scottish Cup win over Hibernian on Saturday.
The bottle appeared to be thrown from the Hibs supporters towards the Celtic winger as he prepared to take a corner during the game at Easter Road.
Celtic interim manager Lennon, who was Hibs boss until the end of January, said: "It's just the real sore point of the season, whether it be bottles, coins, flares. It's just totally unacceptable.
"That should be the safest environment for the players. They're entertaining the public - whether it be the Celtic public or the Scottish public. For the players, officials and management, that should be a safe environment."
Hibs boss Paul Heckingbottom added: "No one wants to see things like that, so wherever it's come from, whoever has thrown it, we need to find them.
"It seems to be happening a little bit too often right now, and everyone needs to try and stop it."
Hibernian issued a statement on Saturday night in which they pledged to work with authorities to identify who threw the bottle onto the pitch.
They said: "We will review the CCTV footage and work with the appropriate authorities to identify those involved in throwing items onto the pitch.
"The match was a good game, played in a great spirit, but unfortunately yet again the headlines will be around this kind of unacceptable conduct."
Hibernian also claimed a bottle was thrown onto the field by Celtic supporters, saying: "We understand two bottles were thrown, one from each set of supporters. This is entirely unacceptable and puts players and others at risk."
Sinclair was not hit by the bottle, which was then removed from the pitch by referee Willie Collum.
Scottish football has been marred by several incidents this season in which players and officials have been targeted by supporters.
During October's 0-0 draw between Edinburgh rivals Hearts and Hibs, then-Hibs head coach Lennon was hit by a coin, while both assistant referees were also hit by items thrown from the terraces.
Hearts goalkeeper Zdenek Zlamal was also struck in the face by a supporter during the same game, while he retrieved the ball from the side of the field.
Last month, Kilmarnock striker Kris Boyd said he was struck by a coin thrown by Celtic supporters during Killie's 1-0 defeat to the Hoops.
