“Once again, we have seen unacceptable levels of violence and anti-social behaviour and Police Scotland’s officers have been left to deal with the consequences.”
Police officers were injured after they came under fire from missiles amid Celtic title celebrations in Glasgow’s Trongate.
The Hoops clinched their fifth Scottish Premiership trophy in a row this afternoon as Martin O’Neil’s men ran out 3-1 victors over title rivals Hearts. Goals from Engels, Maeda and Osmond cancelled out Lawrence Shankland’s opener.
Hundreds of supporters invaded the pitch following the Bhoys’ third goal, which included interactions with Hearts players. Police Scotland is now in communication with the capital side to establish if any of their players were assaulted on the field as they review the incident.
Following the match, around 3000 supporters swarmed the area of Glasgow’s city centre through an unorganised street party, which has become an annual tradition amongst the Celtic faithful since their Treble Treble bus parade in 2019.
Disturbing scenes unfolded as arrests were made after officers attending to a medical incident were met with significant levels of hostility, including bottles and other missiles thrown at them.
The force has now confirmed several officers were injured as a result. Specially trained public order officers were deployed and action was taken to restore order, disperse the crowd and make arrests.
Extensive enquiries are underway to identify others involved as Police Scotland guaranteed “further arrests will be made”. A significant amount of alcohol and pyrotechnics were also proactively seized by police across the day.
Photographs from the scene showed supporters climbing traffic lights and structures. Riot cops can be seen clearing the area of the Trongate while being pelted with objects.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Sutherland said: “While we recognise that the majority of fans respected the appeal from police and partners to act responsibly, several thousand still descended on the Trongate area, some of whom engaged in serious disorder.
“Once again, we have seen unacceptable levels of violence and anti-social behaviour and Police Scotland’s officers have been left to deal with the consequences. Being assaulted is not part of the job and regrettably a number of them were injured.
“The levels of criminal behaviour witnessed, in particular the hostility directed towards our officers, is simply unacceptable and cannot be tolerated. Those involved should be in no doubt that they will be identified and arrested.
“This mass assembly of people caused significant disruption to local businesses, residents and members of the public in the City Centre.
“Urgent discussions with Celtic, wider Scottish football authorities and other stakeholders, including Glasgow City Council, is required to achieve a solution that improves public safety, reduces disruption and prevents this from happening again.”
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