Hearts fans paid tribute to a lifelong supporter who tragically “fell asleep and never woke up”.
Aaron Coltart was commemorated during Hearts’ home match against Livingston on Saturday.
Hearts fans with touching tribute in 30th minute
During the 30th minute of the Scottish Premiership match, Hearts fans broke out into a minute of applause for the supporter, who passed away shortly after his 30th birthday. The tribute was organised by Coltart’s sister Vicky and nephew, Theo who stressed that it would have meant “so much to him”.
18,000 fans inside the stadium were seen clapping during the match. Videos of the tribute were posted on social media. As the standing ovation began, Hearts equalised through Yutaro Oda, and they eventually went on to win the game 4-2.
Hearts 2-2 Livingston
Oda 32′
🇱🇻🇱🇻 pic.twitter.com/NtD75XMyg0
— HMFC Tube (@HMFCtube) April 13, 2024
A ”shared passion for Hearts”
Ahead of the game, Coltart’s sister, Vicky, spoke to Edinburgh Live and said: “Our brother Aaron was a Hearts fan, who tragically lost his life almost two weeks ago, a couple weeks after his 30th birthday.
“I am hoping to get a clap at the 30th minute of Saturday's game v Livingston for him.”
Vicky insisted that the idea to applaud Coltart was not completely her idea, and that nine-year-old Theo was a big part of the touching tribute. Theo takes his grandad’s Hearts scarf to every game and had an extremely close relationship with Aaron.
Vicky also said: “It’s not really me organising it, it's my son Theo, who is nine-years-old.
“Aaron was so proud of Theo and their shared passion for Hearts. Me and Aaron wanted to organise something like this for our dad, but it was closed games due to Covid-19. So I know Aaron would absolutely love that it could be happening for him”.