The hopes of a return to traditional, large away allocations for the Glasgow derby have been dealt a crushing blow following the chaotic scenes between Rangers and Celtic fans at Ibrox on Sunday.
In a candid interview, a high-ranking Police Scotland official has stated that the damaging scenes after Celtic’s penalty shootout victory against Rangers mean that policing such a large crowd ‘isn’t workable.’
This is despite Police Scotland’s Greater Glasgow Chief Superintendent Emma Croft stating she is ‘satisfied with the policing situation’ that took place for the Scottish Cup quarter-final.
“I would say to you that we will have a part to play in that conversation (number of away fans moving forward),” said Croft.
“We can’t have what happened yesterday, so our starting position is that the number of away fans isn’t workable currently.”
Yes, the headlines should be about Celtic booking their semi-final ticket to Hampden, and Martin O’Neill working his magic again, but unfortunately, that’s not going to be the case.
How can we ensure that the Glasgow derby can continue having full allocations after the latest incident?
The end of large away crowds for the Glasgow derby?
There was a lot of excitement at Celtic being handed the whole Broomloan Stand for this Scottish Cup fixture, a return to the olden days after a near decade of squabbling off the field.
But you just sense that the scenes post the shootout victory mean only one thing: either no away fans at all, or probably a maximum of 750, as a small minority have let everybody down.
The post-split fixtures are yet to be announced, and Rangers are due a final trip to Parkhead this season, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if there is a total ban on away supporters for that Premiership fixture.
Whilst Police Scotland don’t have the final say on how many away fans are allowed at Ibrox or Parkhead, judging by the comments of the Glasgow Chief Superintendent, they will now have ‘a part to play’ in those talks, and it seems as though it will head down a road nobody wants it to.
Police Chief: “What I think we saw post the result of the penalties was euphoria from one side, and a reaction from another.
“interspersed with types of activities that egged on that rivalry. What we saw was an over-spilling of emotion that has been pent up probably for the last few weeks from both groups, who were hell-bent on trying to reach each other, and if it wasn’t for the fact that we reacted the way we did, I think we would have seen a lot more incidents of violence and disorder.
“To prevent (these situations), the option I have is to over police it, and to have a full cordon of officers in the middle, and take over the club operations. That’s not appropriate, nor is it a good use of police officers.”
Gordon Duncan: “What is the likelihood that we see a big away allocation for this fixture going forward?”
Police Chief: “I couldn’t comment on that because it wouldn’t be me who made the decision. But I would say to you that we will have a part to play in that conversation.”
Duncan: “How damaging was yesterday for that conversation?”
Police Chief: “I would say it plays into and leads the conversation moving forward. Probably, as I have said already, puts us into a position whereby we can’t have what happened yesterday, so our starting position is that the number of away fans isn’t workable currently.”
Duncan: “If the question was put to you, if you were the sole decision maker on that number of away fans, the answer would be ‘no.’
Police Chief: “No, not at this current time.”
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