Alan Stubbs says he feared there would have been crowd trouble if he'd agreed to have his Hibs team form a guard of honour for Hearts in the Edinburgh derby. Hearts head coach Robbie Neilson and Jambos defender Alim Ozturk have both rounded on their city rivals for refusing a public display of acknowledgement for the Championship title winners at Easter Road. Rangers lined up to applaud Hearts on to the Ibrox pitch when the teams played just over a week ago, and Queen of the South and Alloa did the same. But Stubbs, who admitted that the police hadn't been consulted, insisted that the threat of unrest – not a lack of respect – was responsible for the decision. Hibs boss Alan Stubbs feared unrest among fans if his side formed a guard of honour for city rivals Hearts . 'It's been turned into a lack of respect,' said the Hibs boss. 'Well, I rang Robbie the day after they won the league and congratulated them and said they had been the best team over the season and that it had been fully deserved. 'My players have come out in the press and said Hearts have been the best team. I think that's respect. 'The reason why we decided against it is because there are two sets of rivals fans, it's a derby, there's going to be a lot of animosity. You are going to have one set of fans that will be jovial because they've won the league, you'll have one that are not going to be happy about that. 'The most important thing is the safety of the fans and that's the main reason we've done it. We don't want to start the game on a bad foot, that's the reason we've done it. Not a lack of respect. It's a respect for fans. It's a decision we spoke about and we feel as if it's the right decision for both sets of fans. 'We can't let this get out of control for the reasons we've done it. We've seen silly things happen over the years and we don't want to get into that state because of a guard of honour. 'If I won the league and we were at Tynecastle, I wouldn't expect a guard of honour there. We don't turn around and say because one team has done it every other team has to. I wouldn't expect it. 'Because you know it only takes on person. Before you know it, you've got a situation on your hands that could have been prevented. We want the derby to be spoken about for the right reasons, not the wrong reasons – and it only takes one idiot.' Agreeing that it would be unthinkable for either Old Firm team to offer their oldest rivals a guard of honour in a similar situation, Stubbs said: 'So why's it any different here? 'It's a derby and it means a lot to both sets of fans.' Hearts head coach Robbie Neilson feels that it is disrespectful not to acknowledge his team's achievements . Hearts fans favourite Ozturk inferred that the decision not to have a guard of honour showed a lack of respect by Hibs, while boss Neilson claimed it could backfire on them on the pitch. 'It is up to them if they want to do it,' said Ozturk. 'But other teams have shown respect to us - and if Hibs don't want to do it, that says a lot about them. 'Teams like Rangers showed us a little bit of respect for a fantastic season and it's a good feeling because you have worked really hard all season to win the league like this. 'That kind of respect you get is really nice but they [Hibs] are not going to do it, so that is it. Is that going to motivate me? Yes. I have a lot of respect for the other teams. This gives us extra motivation to show them why we' re champions. If you're asking me, I would have no problem with doing that for Hibs.' Neilson added: 'That's Hibs' prerogative. I think it will actually take some of the focus off our players, instead of coming out to a guard of honour and not concentrating on the game. 'It can also give the opposition team a bit of spirit and a bit of fight to say: 'We've given you a guard of honour, now we are going to turn you over!' That can happen. 'I've been in that situation where you are standing there clapping, and your first thought is to go out there and show them. Hopefully it will work in our favour that they don't do it on Sunday.' Hearts fans favourite Alim Ozturk (right) shares his boss' view that Hibernian should pay tribute to them .
Hibernian will not form a guard of honour for Scottish Championship winners Hearts during the Edinburgh derby . Boss Alan Stubbs believes it would cause unrest among the fans . Hearts head coach and defender Aim Ozturk feel that Stubbs' decision shows a lack of respect .