The effects from last weekend’s Old Firm fixture are still echoing almost five days later.
What should have been a monumental day in Scottish football quickly turned sour by 5pm.
This is a fixture anticipated across the country: two historic rivals facing off in one of the oldest cups in footballing history, the Scottish Cup. An afternoon of glory and bragging rights turned into ugly scenes.
Scenes I have never seen in my lifetime.
What happened?
For the first time since 2018, Celtic were given the full Broomloan Stand at Ibrox, which arguably made the atmosphere inside the stadium pulsating and brought this fixture back to its original climax, rather than a few hundred fans being crammed into a corner section.
After extra time and penalties, Celtic emerged victorious — and rightly so. The penalties they scored were taken in a clinical fashion. After the final whistle, however, proceedings took an unforeseen turn.
Celtic players naturally flocked to the Broomloan Stand to celebrate with the away fans, and rightly so — this was a massive win over their derby rivals, and nobody would grudge them that. A select minority of the travelling Celtic support then entered the pitch to celebrate with the players before being ushered back off by police and stewards.
Minutes later, members of the Union Bears entered the pitch in what can only be described as a storm and bolted for the away end. They were met with a police line shortly before the 18-yard box.
This didn’t stop some frightening scenes from occurring. They appeared to throw flares into the away stand, prompting some Celtic fans to re-enter the pitch. Police Scotland confirmed that a number of fans and officers were injured during these events. The police managed to ensure those involved returned to their seated section.
What’s next?
I think it’s more than safe to say that neither set of fans will ever again be granted a full allocation of tickets at the opposition stadium. I suspect football banning orders will be handed out to those who engaged in any aggressive activity during the full-time events.
With certain clubs currently being granted alcohol licences — trialled for refreshments before kick-off and at half-time — I don’t see either Celtic or Rangers being afforded such a trial, and most certainly not when they play one another.
Should ultras be banned?
In light of Sunday’s events, it certainly prompts the question of whether football ultras should be banned from stadiums, and it’s a debate I’m very much in two minds about.
On the one hand, the atmosphere they create is second to none and, when the chips are down, they often uplift the feeling of an entire stadium. They are often committed to tifos being displayed and dedicate a lot of time to creating them. For some clubs, they also do a significant amount of charity work in the community, which again adds weight to the argument in their favour.
Where they fall down — and Sunday certainly attests to this — is their sometimes violent behaviour. It can be said they often cause disorder and give both police and stewards a difficult shift. Their frequent use of pyrotechnics, which are banned, does not lend to their case either.
I can safely say I’m glad I’m not responsible for making decisions surrounding their future, as it’s an extremely difficult choice. In light of Sunday’s events, however, one thing is certain: behaviour like that cannot continue within Scottish football. I hope that in my lifetime I never witness such events again.
I have a keen interest in sport journalism and broadcasting.
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