Scotland’s top police officer has slammed both Old Firm clubs for their continued silence in the aftermath of Sunday’s shame game at Ibrox.
Rival fans clashed on the pitch after Celtic triumphed in a penalty shootout to book their place in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup.
Nine arrests were made in total, one of which was in relation to the alleged assault of a Celtic player and coach.
Several police officers and stewards were also injured following missile-throwing and widespread violence.
Both clubs are continuing to review all footage and evidence, but have so far declined to make any public comment despite widespread condemnation from senior public figures.
Chief Constable Jo Farrell hit out at their ongoing silence and their failure to publicly condemn the violence when she addressed the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday.
Scottish football was shamed by scenes involving Celtic and Rangers fans last Sunday
She told MSPs: ‘The events of Sunday afternoon were absolutely disgraceful, and I condemn the people involved in violence.
‘Fans, families, friends, people working at the clubs, my officers do not go to work within that environment to witness or be on the receiving end of threats and violence.
‘There’s a point of reflection that, at the same time policing was responding to those events, members of the public were injured, officers were injured.
‘[There was] lots of coverage in the media in relation to the events of Sunday afternoon, [but] when we got to Monday evening, there was still no commentary from either of those clubs in respect of the violence that was witnessed.
‘Nobody came out to condemn that violence.’
Dozens of travelling fans entered the pitch to celebrate Celtic’s victory and more than 100 Rangers supporters charged to confront them.
Police and stewards formed a barrier to prevent large-scale interaction, but there were scenes of violence and missiles were thrown, including a lit flare.
There were also reports of vile graffiti about the Ibrox Disaster being daubed in the Broomloan Stand, which housed a full allocation of 7,500 Celtic fans for the first time since 2018.
The Chief Constable continued: ‘Policing has a key role in ensuring safety and addressing those issues, but putting more resource into that dynamic is not going to solve this problem, and it’s a broader societal issue that needs to be gripped by all the agencies that have a responsibility around football and the way in which fans conduct themselves.’
Reform MSP Graham Simpson asked her if there is a responsibility on the clubs to review how they allocate tickets to ensure those who are likely to cause such violence cannot attend games.
Chief Constable Jo Farrell has criticised the Old Firm for their continued silence over the shame game
She said: ‘That would seem like an obvious action that needs to be considered and taken by either [of the] clubs.
‘How do they ensure the safety of their broader fan base, and eliminate those individuals who come in and prepare, with the balaclavas and the pyrotechnics, with the intent of causing disruption and harm to those other people around them?
‘We now have an investigation, as you would expect, across all of the events of Sunday afternoon where crimes have been committed of violence and disorder, we will identify those people, and we’ll come after them.’
Rangers and Celtic have been asked for comment.
