A total of 56 people have been reported to the Crown Office for football-related offences following Sunday’s Old Firm match, the Justice Secretary has confirmed.
Michael Matheson said nine of those were for offences covered by the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act , brought in to stamp out religious sectarian abuse at football matches.
There was a heightened police presence in and around Hampden Park when rivals Celtic and Rangers met for the first time in almost three years for the Scottish League Cup semi-final. Celtic won the match 2-0.
Mr Matheson told Holyrood that 1,000 extra officers had been drafted in, with 600 of these deployed in and around the stadium. The remaining 400 were in towns and cities across the country, while spotter teams were on the look-out for “high risk” fans travelling to Scotland for the game.
“It was disappointing to see that a small minority of the 50,000 football fans were intent on causing violence and disorder,” the Justice Secretary said.
“We must recognise that these individuals are not representative of the positive attitude and behaviour that the vast majority of Scottish football fans and those who attended Sunday’s game.”