Police said they encountered “extreme hostility and violence” during a post-match pitch invasion at Ibrox after Celtic beat Rangers in the Scottish Cup quarter-final.
Police chief condemns ‘shameful’ Ibrox scenes
Several arrests have been made after supporters clashed following the Hoops’ penalty shoot-out victory at Ibrox.
Rangers fans from the section housing the Union Bears ultras rushed towards the Broomloan Stand after some of the 7,500 travelling supporters ran onto the pitch to celebrate.
Flares were thrown back and forth from the Broomloan Stand and continued to be hurled around as police and stewards created a barrier between the two groups of supporters.
Police officers detained a fan after Celtic players, including Tomas Cvancara, ran toward the area during an incident involving a member of their backroom staff.
Cvancara, who scored the decisive penalty, was later interviewed on Premier Sports and appeared to still have blood stains on his shirt.
Video footage also showed Celtic right-back Julian Araujo being shoved by a Rangers supporter before he managed to run towards the tunnel, while Nedim Bajrami had a confrontation with a member of Celtic’s staff.
Police Scotland Chief Superintendent Kate Stephen described the scenes as “shameful”.
She added: “A number of arrests have already been made, and Police Scotland will now work with both clubs and the Scottish Football Association to carry out a robust investigation following the scenes on the pitch at the conclusion of the match.
Officers and stewards were faced with extreme hostility and violence over a sustained period, with many individuals having armed themselves with items clearly intended to cause harm.”
“Officers and members of the public have been injured in this despicable display and I want to express my thanks to all officers and staff deployed.”
She added that the investigation would also examine the actions of supporters who entered the Broomloan end without tickets before the match, while there are also reports of offensive graffiti referencing the 1971 Ibrox disaster.
Sir Alex Ferguson and Gary Neville disagree over the best fans in Scotland
While there is no doubt that the Old Firm is one of the fiercest derbies in world football, there is always debate about which group of fans creates the better atmosphere.
Many legendary players, managers and pundits have been asked the question over the years, and Sir Alex Ferguson, who managed in Scotland before his time at Manchester United, once said Celtic Park had the best atmosphere he had ever experienced.
“Parkhead is the best I’ve experienced. The players were just talking about that the other day – Vidic and Ronaldo were saying it’s the best atmosphere they had ever played in. Credit to the supporters for that because they don’t half raise the roof. It’s obvious the Celtic players react to it given the results they’ve had. You are going to have to run that extra yard or you will soon be found out by them.”
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville however, who played under Ferguson more than 600 times, winning eight Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues, insisted Ibrox was “staggering” and a level above their city rivals.
“The best atmosphere I’ve ever seen in my life was Ibrox. As the game was about to kick off, I thought, “What the f**k is this?” Celtic was loud. Phil scored early on. Honestly, for the first couple of minutes before the game and when the game started, I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. Noise. Honestly, Ibrox, it was unbelievable. Staggering.”
Sunday’s clash was the first time Celtic supporters had been given the full Broomloan allocation since 2018, and it now appears unlikely that we will see a full away allocation at the Old Firm anytime soon following the incidents at full time.