Social media videos – Rangers
Glasgow’s George Square was covered in rubbish after the crowd was broken up by police.
Special report by Bill Heaney
Police Scotland has said “many more arrests will follow” what it described as “disgraceful” scenes as Rangers fans celebrated in Glasgow city centre.
Five police officers were injured and 20 people arrested as crowds were dispersed due to “rising disorder”.
Thousands of fans had taken to the streets after Rangers’ first Scottish Premiership title win in a decade.
They marched from Ibrox Stadium to George Square on Saturday where flares were set off and missiles thrown.
Police broke up the crowds after about five hours due to “rising disorder”.
Police Scotland Deputy Chief Constable Will Kerr.
Police Scotland Deputy Chief Constable Will Kerr said investigations were continuing and further arrests would be made in the coming weeks.
Glasgow remains in level 3 of Covid lockdown restrictions, with large gatherings outdoors not permitted.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: “To say I’m utterly disgusted by the Rangers fans who rampaged through the city would be an understatement.”
There had been a high, visible police presence throughout the day as huge crowds gathered outside Ibrox before the final game of the season against Aberdeen.
Police Scotland said it had declined a request to facilitate the march to George Square and urged the crowd to go home.
After supporters celebrated in George Square for about five hours, officers said some fans became unruly.
Property was damaged, several people assaulted and missiles and flares were thrown at officers.
Officers formed a line and cleared the group from the area just after 21:00, with Police Scotland describing the fans’ behaviour as “disgraceful”.
“Our officers became the focus of the crowd’s attention with missiles and flares being thrown at them,” Chief Superintendent Mark Sutherland, Police Scotland’s Divisional Commander for Greater Glasgow, said in a statement.
“Our policing response has been proportionate. We have responded appropriately and consistently to the behaviour of those gathered.
“Although most of those present dispersed, a number remained and confronted officers with violence and aggression. Missiles were thrown and officers came under direct attack as George Square and the surrounding area was cleared.”
Nicola Sturgeon, pictured left, said she was “angry on behalf of every law-abiding citizen”.
The first minister added: “In normal times, the violence and vandalism and the vile anti-Catholic prejudice that was on display would have been utterly unacceptable. But mid-pandemic, in a city with cases on the rise, it was also selfish beyond belief.”
Ms Sturgeon said she hoped Rangers would “reflect on what more must be done to tackle this behaviour by fans, albeit a minority”.
She added: “However, ultimate responsibility lies with those who behaved in such a thuggish, sectarian and selfish manner. And that’s why we must let the police do their job.”
‘Glasgow is fragile’
He told BBC Scotland’s The Sunday Show: “This virus has not gone away – we’re not joking, we’re not pretending – it’s absolutely real.
“And the risk, particularly now in Glasgow, is quite high and Glasgow is fragile.
“You’ve seen us make an enormously difficult decision this week on our advice that has kept a bit of Glasgow in the same level.
“It feels like a tough day to watch that yesterday if you are a business owner or a family waiting for lunch or dinner.”
Scottish Police Federation chairman David Hamilton said the people in George Square had shown a “blatant disregard for the safety of the public and police officers”.
He told The Sunday Show: “To see that number of people blatantly ignoring all the health advice, the government advice, the police advice – even the club advice to disperse – is just absolutely appalling.
“Policing in this country is, of course, done by consent. The whole strategy throughout the coronavirus pandemic has been about making sure people take personal responsibility and they have not done so.
“These people should not have been there in the first place and when they were asked to move, they should have gone.”
Fans had been warned against gathering to celebrate due to rising Covid-19 cases in Glasgow.
The Union Bears fan group had earlier announced plans to walk from the stadium to George Square.
On Friday night, scores of Rangers fans lit red flares simultaneously along the River Clyde in the city as they marked the end of the season.
In an earlier statement on Saturday, Ch Supt Sutherland said: “We understand the importance of football in Glasgow, how it connects our communities and, is for many, a culture and a way of life.
“We are, however, still in the midst of a pandemic and under coronavirus restrictions people should not be gathering for any reason.”
He said a request for a fan procession to the city centre had been declined, but police later decided to escort large groups of supporters as they made their way to George Square in order to minimise disruption.
Some arrests were made in the afternoon for anti-social behaviour.
But Ch Supt Sutherland said due to the largely peaceful nature of the crowd at that time “it would not be proportionate for our resources to use a high level of force through public order policing to disperse those gathering”.
However, Democrat readers are not prepared to swallow that kind of spin doctoring — even if it is from the police.
Karen Jones wrote on social media: “Here are some comments from social media: “Sitting here listening to the fireworks still going off, having watched the horrendous videos that have been streamed all day of the ‘celebrations’ in Glasgow, including the lovely versions of ‘Up to our knees in Fenian blood’, of George Square, trashed yet again, and I get irritated at the hashtag ‘Scotland’s Shame’.
And Ralph Thomson asked: “Here’s a wee test, how many respectable Rangers fans do you know that have ignored this post, said nothing about the whole thing or tried to make excuses or justify it?. (Im not asking btw).
“But i’ve seen decent folk ignore or make excuses for it because they are blue noses. There you have your answer to why bigotry and hatred are still alive and kicking in the West of Scotland.”
The Ibrox club were presented with the Scottish Premiership trophy after beating Aberdeen 4-0 and thousands of fans took to the streets in celebration despite Covid restrictions.
Film footage has since emerged of fights between supporters taking place and missiles being thrown at police as they tried to contain the situation.
And the First Minister has today hit out at the decision to take to the streets when Covid cases are on the rise in Glasgow, to the extent that the city will remain in level three as others have their restrictions eased from Monday.
She tweeted: “I’m understandably inundated with messages about yesterday’s disgraceful scenes in Glasgow. Police still have a job to do, which restrains my comments to some extent – but to say I’m utterly disgusted by the Rangers fans who rampaged through the city would be an understatement.
“I’m also angry on behalf of every law abiding citizen. In normal times, the violence and vandalism, and the vile anti Catholic prejudice that was on display, would have been utterly unacceptable. But mid-pandemic, in a city with cases on the rise, it was also selfish beyond belief.
“People across the country still living under the most difficult restrictions – not able to see family or attend weddings and funerals – are rightly furious at the irresponsible actions of a thuggish minority who seem to care little for the risks they pose to other people.
“Understandably people ask questions about if/how government and police can do more to prevent/tackle scenes like these, and there is a need to reflect. That said, @policescotland officers have my admiration and thanks for the job they did in difficult and dangerous circumstances.
“I hope @RangersFC will also reflect on what more must be done to tackle this behaviour by fans, albeit a minority. However, ultimate responsibility lies with those who behaved in such a thuggish, sectarian and selfish manner. And that’s why we must let the police do their job.”
About 5pm tonight, Dan McGinty, editor of The Irish Voice in Glasgow, confirmed that Police Scotland have launched inquiries following the circulation of videos of the Rangers first team celebrating this weekend.
It is alleged that the videos show members of the squad singing ‘F*ck the Pope’ while singing along to Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline.
When contacted by The Irish Voice, a Police Scotland spokesperson confirmed that complaints had been received and that they would be investigated.
“We are aware of the video circulating on social media,” the spokesperson said. “And we will be carrying out inquiries.”
The report goes on to say that numerous individuals have made complaints to Police Scotland, with one saying, “I have chosen to report this as a hate crime and would encourage others to do likewise to start to seriously tackle the anti-Catholicism and anti-Irish racism that has blighted Scottish society for centuries.”
Following contact by The Irish Voice, no-one at Rangers was available for comment.
Police officers were injured when missiles were directed at them as they attempted to finally clear George Square after thousands of supporters gathered there after marching from Ibrox.
In preparation for the disorder, businesses were advised to close for the day, with Irish bars such as Connolly’s in Glasgow’s Merchant City and the Celtic club shop on Argyll Street staying closed.
Following the violent scenes throughout the day, many more businesses in the city centre also took the decision to close.
The aftermath of Saturday saw many politicians finally call out the anti-Catholic bigotry, though there were few mentions of the anti-Irishness which was also on display.
Following on from a promise made during the Call It Out hustings in the run-up to the recent elections—when James Dornan MSP pledged to encourage the use of more accurate terminology—both Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon directly mentioned anti-Catholic prejudice.
“In normal times, the violence [and] vandalism, [and] the vile anti-Catholic prejudice that was on display, would have been utterly unacceptable,” the First Minister said. “But mid-pandemic, in a city with cases on the rise, it was also selfish beyond belief.”
Rangers fans celebrate winning the Scottish Premiership title in George Square.