Police has called for urgent talks with Celtic and Scottish football authorities after ‘unacceptable violence’ was shown towards officers during the club’s title celebrations in the Trongate area of Glasgow on Saturday.
Martin O’Neill’s side defeated Hearts 3-1 in Saturday’s dramatic Scottish Premiership title decider at Celtic Park, though the match was overshadowed by controversy after the visitors claimed their players were assaulted by Hoops fans who invaded the pitch.
Scenes of violence and hostility continued into the Trongate area as Celtic supporters celebrated a fifth successive title triumph, with authorities confirming multiple arrests were made.
Condemning the ‘significant levels of disorder’ at Trongate, Police Scotland revealed in a strongly-worded statement that ‘missiles, including glass bottles’ were launched by supporters while officers were assisting with a medical emergency.
The statement on Saturday night read: ‘Police Scotland officers dealt with unacceptable violence and hostility as fans gathered in Glasgow on Saturday, 16 May, to celebrate Celtic’s Premiership title win.
‘Around 3000 people made their way to the Trongate area of the city following the match, where we faced significant levels of disorder in which officers were injured. Missiles, including glass bottles, were thrown at them when assisting with a medical emergency.
Police has called for urgent talks with Celtic after ‘violent’ fan celebrations in the Trongate area
Police said in a statement that missiles and glass bottles were launched at officers on Saturday
A Celtic supporters scales traffic light as fans go wild after winning the decider against Hearts
‘Specially trained public order officers were deployed and action was taken to restore order, disperse the crowd and make arrests. Extensive enquiries are underway to identify others involved and further arrests will be made.
‘A significant amount of alcohol and pyrotechnics were also proactively seized by officers across the day.’
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Sutherland said: ‘While we recognise that the majority of fans respected the appeal from police and partners to act responsibly, several thousand still descended on the Trongate area, some of whom engaged in serious disorder.
‘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.
‘This mass assembly of people caused significant disruption to local businesses, residents and members of the public in the City Centre.
The Hoops claimed their fifth successive Scottish title in a dramatic 3-1 victory over Hearts
‘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.
‘We are engaging with Heart of Midlothian FC to establish if any of their players were assaulted on the pitch at the conclusion of the event. The circumstances of the incident are being reviewed.’
