A Hearts fan who smashed a bottle into the head of a pensioner as two sets of supporters fought a running battle before a major cup semi final is facing a jail sentence.
Stephen Mitchell launched the glass missile into a crowd of and Jambos fans who were fighting outside Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh last year.
The beer bottle missed its intended target and instead smashed into the face of passing Hearts fan Caroline Cooper who was attempting to move away from the fighting.
Cowardly Mitchell, 26, was involved in the fan trouble before last October's semi final between the Glasgow and .
Mobile phone footage of the horror attack on 71-year-old Mrs Cooper was widely circulated on social media following the incident and Mitchell was soon identified and arrested.
The footage showed Mitchell running across a busy road towards battling fans outside a Sainsbury's store near to the stadium before launching the Budweiser bottle into the crowd.
Shocked onlookers watched on as the missile headed in the direction of the elderly woman who was standing behind a taxi on the other side of the road.
Mitchell, from Ratho, Edinburgh, then runs back towards the camera and is heard to shout: "Lets go."
But a concerned woman in a Hearts top is heard to tell him: "You hit that girl. You hit your own."
Mitchell appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last week where he pleaded guilty to an amended charge of assault by throwing the bottle that struck Mrs Cooper to the head at Westfield Road, , on October 28 last year.
The Crown moved for a Football Banning Order on Mitchell and a decision on the motion will be decided at the sentencing diet.
Sheriff Donald Corke deferred sentence to next month for the preparation of reports.
Victim Mrs Cooper is the mother of Hearts employee Clare Cowan who was forced to rush her parent to hospital with a cut to her head following the bottle attack.
At the time Ms Cowan, who is the club's Admin and Projects manager, took to Twitter to condemn the thug.
She posted: "To the so-called Hearts fan that thought it was a good idea to throw a full bottle of bud at a bus of Celtic fans today outside Sainsbury's car park.
"I'm now sitting in A&E with my 70-year-old mum as that bottle hit her on the side of the face.
"Shame on you, your parents must be so proud of the a******* you are."
Fans and ex-players were also quick to express their horror at the the OAP being bottled outside the ground.
One Jambo fan said: "Awful Clare. Hope she will be OK and not too shaken. No place for that at our club."
Another Hearts supporter said: "Sorry to hear this Clare. I don't go to many away games with Hearts these days so I was disappointed at the sheer number of a******** who'd crawled out from under their rocks."
While former Hearts star Danny Grainger added: "Sorry to hear this Clare. Hope she is ok. Please send my love."
Mitchell admitted to culpably and recklessly throwing a bottle into a crowd where Mrs Cooper was struck on the head to her injury at Westfield Road.
The semi-final clash between Hearts and Celtic at Murrayfield saw the Hoops run out 3-0 winners in front of 61,161 supporters.
Celtic then went on to defeat Aberdeen 1-0 in the final at Hampden Park.
