Two police officers 'seriously' injured as disorder during Celtic celebrations condemned
Officers had “missiles, including glass bottles” thrown at them. A senior officer has called for the club to be ‘more accountable’
Police Scotland has called for “urgent discussions” after officers were seriously injured while dispersing crowds in the Trongate area of Glasgow, where Celtic fans gathered to celebrate the club’s Scottish Premiership title win.
Some 3,000 supporters congregated in the area on Saturday to celebrate their team’s victory over Hearts.
Of 14 arrests, 10 were related to fans gathering in the Trongate area following the match, while four were at the stadium itself.
Senior Police Scotland officer Mark Sutherland called on Celtic to be “more accountable”.
The assistant chief constable said: “On this issue, more must be done. Celtic must be more accountable, supported by the local authority with police, to ensure there is safe spaces for people to celebrate, that are licensed, controlled.
“And this level of disorder that our officers have faced doesn’t happen again.”
Asked if there is anger from the police force towards Celtic, he said: “Absolutely. I have two officers injured this morning. I have many more officers who have had rest days cancelled.
“Over 400 people had to have their rest day cancelled.”
He added: “Next year we must have a better plan and a better contingency, so that there’s not such a big impact on our officers and staff.”
Officers had “missiles, including glass bottles” thrown at them while assisting with a medical emergency, police said.
Mr Sutherland said: “Urgent discussions with Celtic, wider Scottish football authorities and other stakeholders, including Glasgow City Council, is required to achieve a solution that improves public safety, reduces disruption and prevents this from happening again.”
He added: “Once again, we have seen unacceptable levels of violence and anti-social behaviour and Police Scotland’s officers have been left to deal with the consequences. Being assaulted is not part of the job and regrettably a number of them were injured.
“The levels of criminal behaviour witnessed, in particular the hostility directed towards our officers, is simply unacceptable and cannot be tolerated. Those involved should be in no doubt that they will be identified and arrested.”
By around 7.30pm, the streets were mostly empty, though large amounts of rubbish had been left behind. Streets were awash with green and white as fans streamed out of the stadium.
There was a large police presence in the Trongate area and several roads around the Trongate were closed ahead of the celebrations from Celtic supporters.
It came after the force accused Celtic of failing to put plans in place for official Premiership title celebrations.
The 3–1 victory over the Jambos confirmed the Scottish Premiership title for Martin O’Neill’s Celtic side.
Hearts players were escorted off the pitch as thousands of Celtic fans spilt onto the field following the final goal.
The Edinburgh club later released a statement condemning the “shameful” scenes, saying: “Reports of serious physical and verbal abuse towards our players and staff, both on the pitch and elsewhere, are deeply disturbing.
“We are investigating this fully and are in dialogue with Police Scotland.
“We will make no further comment at this time other than to say that it is completely unacceptable that our players and staff were put in that situation.”
The club added: “The pitch invasion caused a chaotic end and nobody seemed to know whether or not the match had been brought to a finish.”
Police Scotland confirmed it was engaging with Hearts to establish if any of the club’s players were assaulted at the end of the game.
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