The Edinburgh derby descended into a night of shame after a coin thrown from the mian stand hit Hibs manager Neil Lennon in the face leaving him pole-axed and requiring medical treatment - and Hearts goalkeeper Zdenek Zlamal was grounded by a ‘punch’ following an incident with fans behind his goal.
The BBC also reported on Wednesday night that both assistant referees, Frank Connor and David McGeachie, were hit by objects thrown by the crowd.
The shocking scenes involving Lennon came just seconds after Hearts thought they had won a heated contest when Clevid Dikamona netted only for the ‘goal’ to be ruled out for offside.
Lennon celebrated the assistant referee’s decision on the touchline, turning to face the Hearts fans in the main stand and was grounded when the coin hit him.
Opposite number Craig Levein was quick to Lennon’s aid as police officers and match officials homed in.
But football authorities will begin their investigations on Thursday morning - and will also look at the incident involving Zlamal which came minutes after Hibs striker Florian Kamberi had been sent-off for his role in the melee that followed his challenge on Ollie Bozanic.
Zlamal had gone to retrieve the ball from behind his goal when he was floored following a confrontation with Hibs fans. Levein said that his player had been punched while pictures on social media also appeared to show a set of keys had been thrown into the keeper’s net.
‘It was a pound coin, so he must have a few quid,’ Lennon said of the incident that left him grounded. ‘Listen, it’s no laughing matter. I hope they deal with it and I’d like to meet the guy face-to-face.
‘It’s not on. It’s disgraceful. Players are out there doing their jobs and trying to entertain people.
‘I don’t understand the mentality of the supporter who wants to throw things at people.
‘These people should be punished, they should be banned. You can’t condone that sort of behaviour, it’s disgraceful.
‘What are a club do when there’s a supporter throwing things on to the pitch? Ultimately it’s down to the individual.
‘God knows what age he is, he could be a grown man for all I know. Hopefully there will be punishment for both those people involved if the cameras can pick them out.
‘I would like to meet him in person. They give me plenty - all of the time. It’s not humour. Some of it is quite unsavoury. Some people can take it, others seem to resort to throwing things.
‘There was a lot of frustration out there from our point of view. I don’t think Flo deserved his first yellow let alone his second.
‘It was for his reaction, but what do they expect? Players were all over him. He made an honest challenge for the ball. Both of them had eyes on it. It was a 50/50, which was going on all night.’
Hearts manager Levein was appalled by the attack on his opposite number - and the apparent assault on his goalkeeper.
‘There’s no place for that,’ he said. ‘Zlamal got punched (by a supporter) at one end and Neil has been hit by some idiot with a coin.
‘Tensions are high on and off the field, I get that. But I don’t like to see that. That’s letting things go too far and hopefully we will find both of the people who were involved in these incidents and deal with them.
‘It’s ridiculous that people are subjected to that.’
Amid the electric atmosphere both sides had chances to win a dramatic derby with Stevie Mallan coming closest - hitting the bar with one splendid long-range effort.
Hearts defender Dikamona also hit the woodwork late-on before having another effort ruled out for offside.
But the home side, who retain their place at the top of the table, may well welcome the hard-earned point all the more given their injury crisis and the fact they were without their first-choice strike force with Steven MacLean sitting out the encounter after accepting a two-match ban for grabbing Celtic midfielder Eboue Kouassi’s groin.
‘We seemed to get the wrong end of the stick from the referee on a lot of occasions,’ Lennon lamented. ‘We got our free kicks miles from goal. We wanted a strong referee but I’m not convinced we got one.
‘There was a lot going on out there. There were players trying to get players sent off, which is unsavoury.
‘We stood up to it and were the better team for much of the game. While I’m pleased with the point I would have rather had all three.
‘I was delighted with the desire and application of the players in intimidating circumstances tonight.
‘We looked good. Obviously the sending off changed the flow of the game but I don’t remember our goalkeeper making any saves.’