HIBERNIAN say St Johnstone fans arriving late and not sitting in their allocated seats resulted in some supporters being forced to sit on an Easter Road stairway for a period of Friday night’s Scottish Premiership clash.
Images circulating on social media showed several Saints fans sitting on steps inside the away end during the first half of the fixture.
The away section occupied half of the lower tier of the South Stand and St Johnstone sold out their over 1,000 allocation ahead of the match.
Hibs claim that a combination of fans arriving late and supporters not sitting in their allocated seats resulted in the stairway issue.
A club spokesperson said: “The bulk of the St Johnstone supporters were late in arriving.
Health and safety hazard tonight as St Johnstone fans are forced to sit on the stairs at Easter Road tonight pic.twitter.com/EOrq0FZsgP
— Scottish Football Away Days (@days_scottish) October 21, 2022
“A large group of their support, responsible for the pyros in this section had occupied an area of seating which for most was not their allocated seating.
“This affected a large number of St Johnstone supporters forcing them to seek alternative seating.
“Stewards worked with the affected supporters to find alternative seating, but due to the numbers, this did take time.
“We thank these supporters for their patience and understanding. The image provided is a snapshot and not representative of the whole game.”
St Johnstone have been approached for comment.
Prior to the fixture, the Perth club asked for further tickets after selling out their initial allocation.
This request was knocked back by the Easter Road club as they broke a 33-year home attendance record for the clash as around 19,500 supporters of the Edinburgh club gathered in the capital.
Saints came from a goal down to clinch three points in the clash as Nicky Clark and Stevie May grabbed the goals for the Perth club.
