IT famously took Hibs over a century, 114 years to be exact, to finally lay their hands on the Scottish Cup once again.

The fallout from the match which ended a barren run that stretched all the way back to 1902 now promises to rumble on for rather long time to come too.

The Easter Road club’s reputation has been damaged and their achievement tarnished by the shameful events which took place following their 3-2 win over Rangers at Hampden on Saturday evening. They won't be able to move on quickly. Nor should they be.

Hibs are now certain to be punished, and punished severely, by the SFA. There is talk of a massive fine, of not being allowed to defend their trophy, of being forced to play games behind closed doors and even of being prevented from playing in the Europa League next season.

Whatever fate befalls them, and there are a raft of disciplinary actions which the governing body can take, they can have no excuses. The outbreaks of violence which took place after the final whistle had been blown at the weekend were deplorable.

What occurred, and why it was allowed to happen, will be pored over in great detail in the coming days. The SFA have launched an investigation in conjunction with Police Scotland and the Hampden Stadium management staff. But it was obvious to any fair-minded observer in the 50,071 crowd exactly what transpired.

Thousands of elated Hibs fans invaded the pitch after referee Steven McLean had brought an end to proceedings. It had been a fantastic game and was an historic result for their team. Their fierce rivals had been defeated and the hoodoo had, at long last, been put to bed.

However, once they had forced their way past the stewards and police officers who were positioned around the stadium and onto the playing surface the celebrations of a minority took a decidedly sinister turn.

Many of the defeated Rangers players who were making their way off the park as well as staff of the Ibrox club were assaulted by Hibs supporters in unprecedented and highly disturbing incidents. As they were surrounded and set upon you genuinely feared for their wellbeing.

Rob Kiernan, Andy Halliday, Jason Holt, Rob Kiernan, Kenny Miller, Dean Shiels and Rob Wallace were all punched and kicked before they reached the safety of the dressing room. Davie Weir, the assistant manager, grappled with one assailant.

A section of those Rangers fans left inside the ground promptly stormed onto the hallowed turf and further clashes ensued. It was fortunate that nobody was very seriously injured or even killed in the worst riot in our national game since the infamous Scottish Cup final in 1980.

Police Scotland were far from blameless. The running battles were allowed to continue for several minutes before reinforcements and mounted police finally appeared and managed to quell the unrest. The time it took them to respond was a disgrace. They appeared inadequately prepared for trouble. Hopefully, they will redeem themselves by successfully prosecuting those responsible.

In the aftermath of the final some have claimed those Rangers fans who got involved were simply attempting to protect their players. What nonsense! The attacks on Hibs supporters which I witnessed took place long afterwards and in a completely different area of the pitch. Assaulting somebody is indefensible whatever the circumstances.

Rangers, too, face sanctions from the SFA as a result of their followers’ part in the disturbances. To release a statement praising their fans for their restraint after a section of them had openly engaged in such vile behaviour quite frankly beggared belief. Yes, most refused to get drawn into the chaos. But the element which disgraced their club should have been condemned.

The smoke canisters which were set off and the sectarian songs which were sung have all been pounced upon by the usual online agitators and Rangers could certainly find themselves censured by the SFA as a result. But they pale into insignificance in comparison with other matters.

The reaction of Hibs chairman Rod Petrie was staggering. He badly misjudged the gravity of the situation and was clearly ill-informed as he addressed the media in the bowels of Hampden after the game. “One hundred and fourteen years of exuberance meant we had to wait a bit longer for the presentation,” he said. It was an appalling response.

What a shame what was a classic Scottish Cup final was overshadowed by such a finish. Because from the moment Anthony Stokes ghosted past James Tavernier and Rob Kiernan and opened the scoring in the third minute it was an outstanding match.

Stokes, who has performed erratically since joining Hibs on loan from Celtic, was hugely influential throughout the 90 minutes. He could have built on the lead on several occasions in a first half which Hibs fared far better in.

When Kenny Miller, another to acquit himself superbly, levelled after getting his head on the end of a Tavernier cross you suspected those squandered opportunities may come back to haunt the underdogs.

Andy Halliday rifled home a long-range strike in the second half to give Mark Warburton’s side the lead. They were in control by that stage and looked set to complete a domestic treble.

Alan Stubbs, though, brought on James Keatings, Liam Henderson and Niklas Gunnarsson and his substitutions kept energy levels high. First Stokes and then David Gray headed in Henderson corners to snatch a richly deserved and long overdue win.

It was a sweet moment for Stubbs, who has been criticised after failing to win the League Cup final and promotion to the Ladbrokes Premiership for the second season running this term, as well as all of his club’s devoted supporters.

Due to the trouble which subsequently flared, the Rangers players didn’t return to collect their runners-up medals and their Hibs counterparts were unable to take the trophy on a lap of honour. It was no way to end such an occasion.