Celtic are locked in a three-way battle for the Scottish Premiership with Rangers and Hearts, but that still hasn’t stopped Police Scotland and the SNP from preparing for a big title street party.
Celtic fans have long held the tradition of taking over Glasgow, namely the Trongate area, each May as they celebrate the Bhoys’ relentless domination of Scottish football.
However, all that could be about to change this season as the SNP and Police Scotland are partnering to avoid a potential ‘powder-keg’ situation exploding in Glasgow as both parties look for a ‘contingency plan’ to avoid potential city centre flashpoints.
Will we hunt Hearts down and win the title?
SNP want to avoid ‘powder-keg’ celebrations if Celtic win the title
The SNP-led Glasgow City Council have come under fire in recent years for failing to prepare for Celtic fans and title parties, even when they knew the Hoops were going to be crowned champions.
And now that there is uncertainty, the council are willing now to prepare for whoever is crowned the SPFL champions this season.
SNP Glasgow City Councillor Greg Hepburn told STV News, “Every year there has been a tradition now when one of the Glasgow teams wins the league, city centre mass parties is the kind way to put it.
“This season, maybe a team from Edinburgh will win, maybe not. It could come down to something like an O-d F-rm game that decides it.
“It could come down to all these various high emotional things, and again, a big party in the city centre. I think we’ve actually got a bit of a powderkeg situation there.”
All well and good, but some Celtic supporters will be left scratching their heads at the lack of planning in previous title parties, considering Police Scotland had a plan for the Bhoys last season that wasn’t used.
Police Scotland put forward ‘contingency plan’ for Celtic title party
And now, it appears that Police Scotland are also all-in on providing safe places for Celtic fans to celebrate if Martin O’Neill gets the title over the line.
Chief superintendent Emma Croft said, “This time last year, we knew one club had won the league, and we could plan accordingly to a point.
“This year we don’t know that, so one of the things has been what does contingency planning look like for the city? What does contingency planning look like if we go to the final day of the league and we still don’t have a winner? Because mathematically that’s quite likely.
“Is it because there is nothing else, so they navigate to certain parts of the city? Or is there a focal point elsewhere where those genuine fans would want to go and see the players, a trophy, a group celebration on known land, whether it be at the stadiums, or an event?
“That’s the type of thing that we’re talking about at the moment.”
As the title race continues to heat up, it’s good to see the authorities finally putting a plan in place so that fans can celebrate a title win safely.
Let’s just hope it’s the Celtic supporters turning Glasgow green and white for the fifth year in a row.
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