A senior Police Scotland officer has called on Celtic to be “more accountable”, as he expressed frustration following fan disorder in the wake of the Scottish Premiership decider.
There have been 14 arrests in Glasgow so far following Celtic’s Scottish Premiership win, which was followed by scenes of disorder in parts of the city.
Of the 14 arrests, 10 were related to Celtic fans gathering in the Trongate area following the match, while four were at the stadium itself.
Some 3,000 supporters congregated in the area on Saturday to celebrate their team’s victory over Hearts.
Officers had “missiles, including glass bottles” thrown at them while assisting with a medical emergency, police said.
Police Scotland’s Assistant Chief Constable Mark Sutherland said two officers were injured during disorder in the Trongate, while three members of the public were either injured or suffered medical episodes.
He said that so far there have not been any arrests in relation to the pitch invasion at Celtic Park, but work on the police response to this is ongoing.
Mr Sutherland told the Press Association: “On this issue, more must be done.
“Celtic must be more accountable, supported by the local authority with police, to ensure there are safe spaces for people to celebrate, that are licensed, controlled.
“And this level of disorder that our officers have faced doesn’t happen again.”
Asked if there is anger from the police force towards Celtic, he said: “Absolutely. I have two officers injured this morning. I have many more officers who have had rest days cancelled.
“Over 400 people had to have their rest day cancelled.”
He added: “Next year we must have a better plan and a better contingency, so that there’s not such a big impact on our officers and staff.”
The senior officer said he accepted that planning official fan events would be difficult, but stressed he did not think they were impossible.
Of the two injured officers, Mr Sutherland said one had suffered a “significant” facial injury and the other was severely bruised.
He said that “astonishingly”, police came under attack as they were responding to a medical emergency.
This prompted police to “show a use of force” to end the disturbance.
Police Scotland are working with Hearts, Mr Sutherland said, and will take “robust and swift action” if any criminality is established.
Streets were awash with green and white as jubilant fans streamed out of the stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Fans were seen climbing on traffic lights and other objects around the Trongate.
Images on social media showed scuffles in the crowd and some clashes with police.
By around 7.30pm, the streets were mostly empty, though large amounts of rubbish had been left behind.
The disorder came after Police Scotland had earlier accused Celtic of failing to put plans in place for official Premiership title celebrations.
The 3–1 victory over the Jambos confirmed the Scottish Premiership title for Martin O’Neill’s Celtic side.
Hearts players were escorted off the pitch as thousands of Celtic fans spilt on to the field following the final goal.
The Edinburgh club later released a statement condemning the “shameful” scenes, saying: “Reports of serious physical and verbal abuse towards our players and staff, both on the pitch and elsewhere, are deeply disturbing.
“We are investigating this fully and are in dialogue with Police Scotland.
“We will make no further comment at this time other than to say that it is completely unacceptable that our players and staff were put in that situation.”
