An independent review into events at last season's Scottish Cup quarter-final between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox has said that disorder at the match must be treated as Scottish football’s ‘Wembley 2021 moment’, as it warned of two ‘near-miss’ moments that could have threatened the lives of fans, police and staff.
The report was conducted by independent lead Mark Blackbourne - a Sports Event Consultant, UEFA Match Delegate and UEFA Stadium Inspector - with the Scottish FA publishing the damning findings this afternoon.
Blackbourne concluded that significant failures in planning and governance on the part of the football authorities, police and the clubs involved helped to contribute towards two ‘potentially life-threatening’ situations at Ibrox that day – namely, the high crush risk as Celtic ultras overwhelmed security staff outside the stadium on Broomloan Road, and the response of ‘masked home fans armed with poles and reinforced gloves’ to a pitch incursion by opposition fans, which ‘came within a very small margin of a violent mass confrontation’.
The report went on to conclude that ‘the four minutes twenty-eight seconds for the Police to re-establish control was a period in which life-threatening violence was possible.’
Blackbourne was critical of ‘complacency’ on behalf of Rangers in their risk assessment for the match, given it was ‘near identical’ to the one for the previous league fixture despite the presence of around 5600 additional away supporters, and that it rated the chances of pitch incursion as ‘unlikely.’
More broadly, he expressed concerns that no multi-agency ‘table-top exercise’ was held prior to match that would be classed as being one of ‘national significance’, calling for a stronger role for Safety Advisory Groups in future after they were sidelined from the pre-match safety planning process between the clubs and Police Scotland.
Chiefly, though, Blackbourne laid the blame for the scenes witnessed on March 8th squarely at the door of the ultras groups themselves, concluding that Scottish football is facing an upward trajectory of unacceptable conduct, such as the use of pyrotechnics, the throwing of objects and pitch incursions, accusing ultras of using intimidatory tactics and operating ‘like serious crime groups.’
They had though, he concluded, not been properly discouraged by the reluctance of clubs to take action against their own supporters and the reticence of the football authorities to sanction the clubs themselves for the behaviour of their fans.
The report ultimately called for much tougher penalties – which are currently at the disposal of both the SFA and SPFL in their rulebooks – to be meted out for such behaviour, including the use of immediate punishments rather than the suspended sanctions which are typically dispensed at present, as well as legislative changes to bring Scotland into line with England and Wales on prosecuting offences such as pitch incursions, pyrotechnics, tailgating and the use of face coverings.
Both Rangers and Celtic subsequently issued statements contesting various points made in the report, but acknowledging their own responsibilities in ensuring that such scenes are never repeated.
