With the upcoming Old Firm Scottish Cup final clash on Saturday, the Scottish Police Federation has requested dedicated fan zones to tackle football disorder. The first Celtic-Rangers championship final since 1999 is expected to see large crowds gather across Glasgow. This follows last weekend’s gathering of around 25,000 fans in the city centre to celebrate Celtic’s premiership victory, which saw four injured officers.
Police Scotland have stated that “appropriate” plans are in place for public safety around the match, which is set to take place at Hampden Park at 3 pm. Last Saturday’s damage to Glasgow City Council’s Trongate was labelled as “unacceptable,” with police arresting 19 individuals after Celtic fans vandalised street furniture, shop fronts, and set off flares and fireworks while climbing onto traffic lights and bus stops.
The police federation represents rank and file officers and has called for dedicated fan zones similar to those in place for European teams playing in Glasgow, which would reduce the burden on officers while minimizing the impact on businesses and individuals living in those areas.
David Kennedy, the federation’s General Secretary, urged fans to remember that many of the officers working at the match are “fans themselves on either side,” adding that “the clubs don’t pay for that and would probably argue that they don’t have to pay for that.” He stated that dedicated fan zones would also ease the burden on police officers, as they have just under 1000 officers for the operational part of the cup, who will be busy with crowd control.
Previous Old Firm disorder caused “significant” problems around the city, according to Glasgow City Council, with more than 50 people arrested in 2021 when Rangers fans celebrated the club’s league trophy win in George Square. Thousands of fans defied Covid warnings and marched from Ibrox Stadium to the city center, despite requests not to gather. The Council has held positive discussions with both Celtic and Rangers last year to collaborate on organized celebrations in the future. Given the possibility of large crowds, it has also held talks with Police Scotland on how fan gatherings this weekend could be safely handled.
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