Celtic’s title party lambasted by MSPs as £34,000 clean up cost noted

An MSP for Glasgow Shettleston has heavily criticised the unofficial Celtic title

party that saw supporters gather in the city centre’s Trongate area after

Saturday’s Scottish Premiership match at Celtic Park.

Promoted by unofficial fan groups such as The Green Brigade ahead of the

gathering, thousands of fans flocked to Glasgow Cross to celebrate Celtic’s league

championship victory – sealed at Rugby Park

three days earlier, and capped off

by a 3-2 home win earlier on Saturday afternoon.

As MSP John Mason mentioned in his address to the Scottish Parliament, it has

since been alleged that four police officers were injured during the

celebration, with a reported 19 people having been arrested.

 

“It is unacceptable that a major road junction in Glasgow is completely blocked,” said Mason. “The Tron theatre

had to cancel its performances that evening… I myself walked in the area at

6.30pm on Saturday. [There were] people urinating in the pens, the closes and

residents [were] afraid to leave their homes.”

 

Siobhian Brown, the Scottish Government’s minister for victims and

community safety, replied in agreement with Mason, saying that while the total

cost of Saturday’s activity was still unclear, the clean up process following a

similar gathering last year is thought to have cost around £34,000.

 

Mason added: “Looking ahead to the future, would [Brown] agree that clubs

need to take more responsibility for their fans, perhaps organising fan zones, and

perhaps strict liability including partial stadium closures, points deductions and

fines as happens in Europe should be considered.

“And can [Brown] give any reassurance that clubs will take responsibility this coming Saturday for their fans’ behaviour.”

Brown replied: “We will continue to work with the footballing authorities, Police Scotland and fan groups to

address issues and ensure football matches are enjoyable experiences for

everyone during the game and afterwards.

“We’ve never ruled out strict liability as an option for incidents at football within stadiums, however our preferred

solution has always been that the footballing authorities themselves

proactively shape and deliver a robust and meaningful solution to tackle any

unacceptable conduct by what is a minority of supporters.

 

“I understand that Glasgow City Council has had discussions with football clubs to

discuss organised celebrations, and I fully encourage such dialogue between

football clubs and local authorities about conducting safe events for their fans

which minimise the impact on the community.”