Police Criticism Over Celtic's Lack of Title Celebration Planning
A senior police officer has expressed criticism towards Celtic Football Club for not establishing plans for an official title celebration in the event the club retains the Scottish Premiership on Saturday.
Martin O'Neill's team must defeat league leaders Hearts at Parkhead to secure the league title for the fifth consecutive year.
In recent seasons, large gatherings of Celtic supporters in Glasgow's Merchant City and Trongate areas have been associated with incidents of anti-social behaviour.
As a precautionary measure, authorities removed glass from bus stop shelters on Friday. Concurrently, the club urged fans to avoid mass gatherings that significantly impact the city.
In contrast, Hearts have announced plans to hold an open-top bus parade through Edinburgh on Sunday if they secure the point necessary to clinch their first league title since 1960.
The decisive match, commencing at 12:30, has been described by manager Derek McInnes as "box office."
If Celtic wins, concerns exist that fan celebrations may resemble those of the previous year, which included widespread street drinking, use of pyrotechnics, and resulted in 20 arrests.
Those celebrations were reportedly smaller in scale than the 2024 event, which led to 19 arrests and injuries to four officers.
Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Alan Waddell stated that the force has a comprehensive plan aimed at "minimising disruption to local communities" and preventing "widespread disorder."
Throughout this closely contested title race, officers have supported Glasgow City Council in discussions with both Celtic and Rangers, the latter having been in contention until their recent defeat to Hearts.
The final day showdown was confirmed on Wednesday after Celtic defeated Motherwell with a controversial VAR-awarded penalty in the 99th minute.
On Friday, the Scottish Football Association (SFA) disclosed that match referee John Beaton and his family spent the previous night at home under police surveillance following a "leak of personal details online."
The SFA attributed this to a "hysterical media narrative" after the Fir Park match.
"We urge tolerance and perspective to prevent any further, unthinkable escalation."
While Celtic fans traditionally gather in the Trongate and Merchant City areas, Rangers supporters assembled in large numbers in George Square when their team last won the title in 2021.
Waddell emphasized that officers are eager to explore options and encourage clubs to establish organised events or fanzones to enable supporters to "celebrate safely and reduce the impact on the local community."
"Despite these welcome efforts, Celtic Football Club has again failed to bring forward any plan or take any responsibility for the wider conduct and safety of supporters outwith the stadium.
Should Celtic win the title on Saturday, we have again had to plan for thousands of supporters gathering in the Trongate area of the city as in previous years."
Waddell also noted that the planning has resulted in the "unnecessary cancellation of rest days" for officers and staff.
"Anyone intent on breaking the law and engaging in anti-social behaviour should be in no doubt that we will enforce the law to maintain public safety."
Police have advised that Glasgow city centre will be busier than usual on Saturday and encouraged people to plan their travel, particularly when using public transport.
Waddell added that the force has held similar discussions with Edinburgh City Council and Hearts to organise an open-top bus parade on Sunday afternoon, should Hearts win.
"Again, Edinburgh would be much busier along the route and people should plan ahead to avoid travel delays."
Major roadworks on the M8 in West Lothian are scheduled for this weekend, and drivers have been urged to allow extra time for journeys.
Glasgow City Council also urged Celtic supporters to ensure that any success on the field is not followed by disorder off it.
A statement released on social media said:
"This has a significant impact on the local community and businesses - while damage to buildings and infrastructure robs the public purse of hundreds of thousands of pounds that would otherwise be spent on the essential services we all rely on.
We want supporters to be able to celebrate success but ask fans - including those visiting the city - to please avoid disruptive and unsafe mass gatherings at Merchant City/Trongate and other public places."
Celtic advised that only supporters with tickets for the 60,000 sell-out match should visit the stadium and urged fans to arrive as early as possible.
Hearts, who have led the league since September, will be supported by fewer than 800 fans at Celtic Park.
Celtic confirmed it has held talks with Glasgow City Council.
The club's statement included:
"We understand that the pressure placed on the city on such occasions is immense.
We know there have been instances in the past which have proved difficult for the local community in terms of movement, obstructions and impact on emergency services.
Glasgow City Council has committed to working together with football clubs on facilitating potential celebrations which would be meaningful to fans and less impactful on communities."
"Until these options can be delivered, we need to play our role in trying to relieve some of the pressures."
The club also highlighted the Cancer Research 10k Race for Life event scheduled for Sunday, which requires "significant planning and support from the city."
The statement continued:
"If successful on Saturday, we would absolutely want our fans to enjoy their own celebrations, but given these events and the wider logistics, we would therefore discourage supporters from attending gatherings in the city centre this weekend, where there is no safety management in place and which have such a high impact on the city.
The pressure which is placed on the city and its services clearly will be enormous and we want to do all we can to support the city."
Celtic also included an appeal from manager Martin O'Neill, who last won the title in 2004 during his first spell at the club.
"It goes without saying that, if we are successful, we will all be looking forward to enjoying it but it's also important that we do so safely and responsibly.
We want all our fans to be safe and ensure that we are mindful of others and our wider community.
Our fans have such a great reputation for positively supporting the team and if we do achieve what we want at the weekend, we want that positive support to shine through again."
