Old Firm cup final disorder ‘completely and utterly unacceptable’, says Swinney

Disorder before the Old Firm game on Sunday was “completely and utterly unacceptable”, First Minister John Swinney said.

Videos on social media have shown hundreds of fans running along Argyle Street in Glasgow ahead of the League Cup Final between Rangers and Celtic, with police using batons on the crowds.

The force also reported missiles being thrown at officers resulting in one being injured, but Mr Swinney insisted police had the situation “under control”.

Speaking to the PA news agency during a visit in Paisley on Monday, Mr Swinney said: “There was a completely and utterly unacceptable level of violence from a small minority of football fans involved in the game yesterday.

“It caused fear and alarm for people who were quite happily going about their Christmas shopping in the centre of Glasgow and it should not, in any circumstances, have taken place.”

The two clubs have the responsibility, the First Minister added, to “take account of the behaviour of their fans”.

Police were forced to invoke special powers which lowers the bar for members of the public to be stopped and searched within the city’s east end, south side and into parts of South Lanarkshire on Sunday.

“Police Scotland had the situation entirely well and comprehensively policed,” he said, warning of repercussions for those involved.

“There will, of course, be consequential action as a result of these incidents, which is a matter for Police Scotland, but fundamentally, this type of behaviour is unacceptable, it’s a minority of fans that are involved and it should not be tolerated.”

Police have said inquiries are ongoing in relation to the disorder, which saw a 26-year-old man taken to hospital after a serious assault and also included the smashing of windows at a pub on Howard Street, but no arrests have been made in relation to the city centre violence, the force said.

“We dealt with a number of incidents in Glasgow city centre involving individuals engaging in disorder and violence,” said Chief Superintendent Stevie Dolan, of Police Scotland.

“Our inquiries are ongoing to identify those who were involved and we will take appropriate action against them. I urge anyone who has any information that could assist our investigation to contact us.

“I want to make it clear that the use of weapons and violence will not be tolerated and retrospective inquiries are being carried out.

“We are following a number of lines of investigation, including reviewing CCTV and footage on social media.

“I would like to thank the majority of fans for their conduct throughout the day.”

The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) said in statement: “The SPFL, Police Scotland and the Scottish FA have been clear that the unauthorised use of pyrotechnics is illegal and unsafe.

“Therefore, the disruptive displays which took place before and during Sunday’s match were completely unacceptable and again led to a delay to the start of the match.

“The SPFL will liaise with Police Scotland regarding their investigations into this illegal behaviour and these events will also be considered as part of the SPFL’s ongoing disciplinary investigations into both clubs regarding the use of pyrotechnics.”