DUP MP Gregory Campbell is calling on Rangers fans celebrating the club’s title win to stick to “public health rules”.
The life long Rangers fan, who has tabled a motion in Parliament to recognise the club winning the Scottish Premiership, made the plea as large crowds gathered on the Shankill on Sunday evening.
Images shared on social media show hundreds of people in the area celebrating the victory.
The East Londonderry representative said: “No one is more delighted than myself to see this success for the Gers. It’s been a long road. But so has the battle against Covid.
“I understand the desire for celebrations but that doesn’t justify breaking the public health rules.
“It would be a bad day for Northern Ireland Rangers fans if a hallmark of 55 league titles was to be fans in ICU beds rather than being able to cheer their team on to more success. There will be plenty of time to celebrate in due course when the vaccine has been rolled out.”
The plea came as large crowds gathered across parts of Northern Ireland and Scotland. Scottish police say a “small number” of arrests were made and fines issued after crowds of fans gathered in Glasgow.
Large numbers of supporters made their way to Ibrox Stadium and Glasgow’s George Square to mark the achievement despite warnings to stay at home.
The scenes prompted Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to warn that the crowds could delay the end of lockdown.
In Northern Ireland, the PSNI tweeted earlier: “We would encourage anyone intending to celebrate today’s Scottish Premier League result, to do so at home safely and within the current Health Regulations.”
Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: “I share folks’ anger at this. Everyone has made so many sacrifices in the past year & seeing a minority risk our progress is infuriating & disgraceful. It is deeply unfair to the entire country, and the police have a hard enough job already. Please ask fans to go home.”
