POLICE praised Rangers and Celtic fans for their behaviour during and after yesterday’s Old Firm derby.
There was a heavy police presence at Celtic Park, around Ibrox and at George Square following fears there would be scenes similar to those on March 7 when Rangers fans turned out to celebrate their team’s first title win in a decade.
The match between Celtic and Rangers was at risk of being called off. Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said the decision to proceed followed “extensive engagement” with the clubs, the SPFL, Police Scotland and Glasgow City Council.
Fireworks rang out across the city as the 1-1 draw cemented Rangers’ league win, but the scenes of a fortnight ago were not repeated.
However, last night, officers were still dealing with crowds of Rangers fans who gathered in Armadale in West Lothian.
Social media posts showed supporters celebrating in the streets of the town despite police warnings to stay at home, with some letting off flares as they broke lockdown rules.
A police spokesman said officers were in attendance “managing a crowd who have gathered in Armadale”.
Local road closures took place for a time due to the scenes.
In Glasgow, Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Higgins thanked fans for their conduct. He also confirmed there had been no arrests.
He said: “I would like to thank the vast majority of fans from both clubs who took responsibility to prevent the spread of coronavirus by staying at home and not gathering at Celtic Park or anywhere else.”
He added: “Where small groups of people did gather, officers engaged and encouraged them to disperse and return home.
“The clear message to all supporters as the football season continues over the coming weeks is to stay safe by staying at home and please do not gather in large groups.
“I’m grateful for the cooperation and support from all clubs and we will continue to work with them and the Scottish Government to ensure the season can be completed safely.”
At the game, which took place behind closed doors, in a moment of solidarity, Celtic captain Scott Brown put his arm around Rangers player Glen Kamara, who was the victim of alleged racist abuse during his side’s Europa League tie with Slavia Prague earlier in the week.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel