Former Celtic and Scotland manager Gordon Strachan has called for away fans to be banned from Old Firm matches, saying the disorder that followed Sunday’s Scottish Cup quarter-final at Ibrox has made the risk simply too great to justify.
Strachan acknowledged that having both sets of supporters in the stadium creates a better atmosphere, but argued that the scenes witnessed on Sunday cannot continue to be accepted as part of the fixture. Celtic won the penalty shootout 4-2 after 120 goalless minutes, with James Tavernier and Djeidi Gassama both missing for Rangers before Tomas Cvancara converted the decisive kick. The celebrations that followed triggered chaos, with fans from both ends clashing on the pitch and police forced to intervene. Premier Sports commentator Rory Hamilton reported live on air that a member of Celtic’s coaching staff had been attacked, describing the scenes as lunacy and saying there was absolutely no need for any of it.
Speaking to World Cup Betting, the 69-year-old said he was personally more comfortable in the period when only the home support attended Old Firm fixtures. He recognised that view puts him in a minority, but said the events of Sunday force the question of whether the improved atmosphere is worth the consequences. He pointed to the danger faced by police officers, stewards and stadium staff, and said that having fans run onto the pitch to attack people working there was completely unacceptable.
Strachan also pointed to social media as a significant contributing factor, arguing that the world has become a nastier place over the past 30 years and that online exchanges between rival supporters build up a level of hostility that eventually spills over when those same people find themselves in the same space. The result, he said, is that the worst of people comes out, and it is simply not worth it.
Scotland’s victims and community safety minister Siobhan Brown also condemned the scenes as unacceptable, singling out the use of pyrotechnics as particularly reckless given the potential for serious injury. She noted that the Scottish government had recently consulted on expanding powers to issue football banning orders and said next steps were being considered.