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HEARTS owner Ann Budge yesterday said forged tickets caused the lockout of Celtic fans at Tynecastle .

Some Hoops supporters who turned up a few minutes late were denied entry to Saturday’s match in Edinburgh, despite having genuine tickets.

The fans were told their section was full.

READ MORE: "We are not criminals": Celtic fan's anger at missing out on Tynecastle clash after being refused entry

Budge said: “It was forged tickets. I’ve seen the tickets and they’re very difficult to identify. We’ll have to work out what we’re going to do about it.

(Image: Natalie Dobbs)

“In the last Celtic game, we had a touch of it as well.

“I very much sympathise with those that had a genuine ticket. I can understand why they should feel aggrieved. But we can’t let more people into the stadium for safety reasons.”

Celtic fans said Hearts should have done more to help those who lost out.

READ MORE: As Celtic supporters are turned away at Tynecastle we pose the question ... is football nothing without the fans?

One supporter questioned how fake tickets could go undetected by scanners, despite having to be checked up to five times.

A spokesman for Celtic said: “We have spoken to Hearts and the club have indicated that all our supporters affected will be offered a full refund or tickets for our next match at Tynecastle.”