Police said they faced “extreme hostility and violence” during a post-match pitch invasion at Ibrox after Celtic beat Rangers in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals.
Police chief condemns ‘shameful’ scene at Ibrox
Fans clashed after the Hoops’ penalty shootout win at Ibrox, leading to numerous arrests.
Some of the 7,500 fans in attendance rushed onto the pitch to celebrate before Rangers fans from the section containing the Union Bears Ultras charged towards the Broomlawn Stand.
Flairs were fired back and forth from the Broom Lawn Stand and continued to be thrown around as police and stewards formed a barrier between the two groups of fans.
Police arrested a fan after Thomas Tsvankala and other Celtic players rushed to the scene during an incident involving Celtic backroom staff.
Kvankala, who scored the winning penalty, was later interviewed by Premier Sports and appeared to still have blood stains on his shirt.
Footage also showed Celtic right-back Julian Araujo being shoved by a Rangers supporter before heading into the tunnel, and Nedim Bajrami getting into an altercation with Celtic staff.
Police Scotland Chief Superintendent Kate Stephen described the scene as “disgraceful”.
He added: “Several arrests have already been made and Police Scotland will be working with both clubs and the Scottish Football Association to conduct a thorough investigation into what happened on the pitch after the match.”
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“Officers and stewards were subjected to extreme hostility and violence over a prolonged period, and many were armed with items clearly intended to cause harm.”
“Officers and members of the public were injured in this despicable act, and I would like to express my gratitude to all the officers and personnel who were deployed.”
He added that the investigation also included the actions of fans who entered the Broomlawn End without tickets before the match, while there were also reports of vile graffiti referencing the 1971 Ibrox disaster.
Sir Alex Ferguson and Gary Neville disagree over who is Scotland’s best fan
There’s no question that the Old Firm is one of the fiercest derbies in world football, but of course there’s always a lot of debate as to which fans create the best atmosphere.
Many legendary players, managers and pundits have been asked this question over the years, including Sir Alex Ferguson, who was Scotland manager before his time at Manchester United, and once claimed that Celtic Park had the best atmosphere he’d ever experienced.
“Parkhead is the best I’ve ever been at. The players were talking about it just the other day. Vidic and Ronaldo said it was the best atmosphere they’ve ever played in. It’s down to the supporters that we don’t even have the roof half way up. Given the results so far, it’s clear that the Celtic players will react to that. They’ll have to run the extra yards or they’ll find us quickly.”
But Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, who played more than 600 times under Ferguson and won eight Premier Leagues and two Champions Leagues, insisted Ibrox were “phenomenal” and a level above their city rivals.
“The best atmosphere I’ve ever seen in my life was at Ibrox. When the game was about to kick off I thought, ‘What is this?’ Celtic were loud. Phil scored early. To be honest, before the game and in the first few minutes of the game, I had never seen anything like it in my life. noise. Ibrox, to be honest, I couldn’t believe it. It’s amazing. ”
Sunday’s meeting marks the first time since 2018 that Celtic supporters have been allocated the full amount of their Broome loans, and it looks like they won’t be playing a full away day at the Old Firm for some time after a full-time fixture.
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