Four people were arrested during the Old Firm clash between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox on Sunday, including one man accused of assaulting a police officer.
Another man was arrested over alleged sectarian abuse, while a third was detained for threatening and abusive behaviour and resisting arrest. A fourth person was arrested for breach of the peace.
Police also issued a warning in relation to a drugs offence, while a youth was reported in connection with an alleged Section 38 offence. The arrests came as Rangers secured their place in the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals with a 3-0 win over Celtic in a pulsating quarter-final clash at Ibrox.
It was far from “pulsating” for Celtic fans, whose after the match remarks were awash with dismay and criticism of Martin O’Neill, left, and Sean Maloney, the Celtic coaches, whom they blamed for choosing the wrong team and fielding a newly signed goalkeeper, who had a poor debut for the club.
Rangers fans were over the moon with the unexpected result in their new coach Derek McInnes’s first Old Firm match.
Despite the on-field incidents, including a punch-up involving half a dozen players, police said the fixture passed without a “major incident”. Chief Superintendent Stevie Dolan said a “proportionate policing plan” had been put in place for the match on Sunday.
He said: “We worked closely with a range of partners, including both clubs, to maintain public safety and minimise any disruption. The match passed without major incident, and I would like to thank the majority of fans for their conduct throughout the day.
“A small number of offences were detected during the course of the event. These included one instance of police assault and a separate incident involving sectarian abuse. Behaviour such as this is never acceptable and will not be tolerated. In both cases, people have been arrested and will be reported to the Procurator Fiscal.”
Police Scotland said the policing operation had been designed to maintain public safety and minimise disruption around the fixture.
Rangers won the match 3-0 thanks to two goals from Dan Neil and one from Kevin Kelsy. There were no Celtic supporters in attendance after away fans were completely banned from all domestic matches between the two Glasgow giants for the remainder of the season.
The teams meet again in a league match next Sunday. The fan ban is still in place, but this time it is Rangers’ supporters’ turn to sit it out.