Rangers v Celtic: Scottish Government to call meeting with SFA as scenes emerge
Former FIFA referee Keith Hackett says the Scottish government will call a meeting with the Scottish Football Association after the “unacceptable” scenes that emerged prior to Rangers’ Scottish League Cup final with Celtic.
The Scottish Sun shared photos of skirmishes between supporters and police prior to the final at Hampden Park on Sunday (15 December).
They described the scenes as “ugly” and reported that a Gers supporter donning a mask squared up to police outside of Glasgow Central Station.
Footage was posted by Edinburgh News’ Barry Anderson prior to the Old Firm final between the two fierce rivals.
Speaking to Ibrox News, Hackett said he expects the relevant authorities to investigate the incidents: “There is a great deal of pre-match planning that goes into a game at the elite level.
“The scenes are of course unacceptable and I have no doubt that the Scottish government will call a meeting between police and the football authorities to investigate.
“We have witnessed with the incident in Rotherham where there was a riot against illegal immigrants how social media clips and security cameras can provide appropriate evidence.
“In that situation we have seen jail terms being handed out. This could happen in this case.
“Questions will be asked if the security was tight enough? Were there sufficient police officers? The clubs will be involved in any investigation.
“The matter is between the football authorities, police and government.”
Rangers could investigate scenes prior to Celtic League Cup final
It does seem extremely likely now that this story will rumble on over the coming days and sadly it could even end up overshadowing whatever happens on the pitch.
Old Firm domestic cup finals are always occasions to be greatly celebrated and draw interest across the world due to the prestige of the fixture.
But no one wants to see scenes such as this and, as Hackett alludes to, you have to assume that all the relevant authorities will now get their heads together to look at what happened.
In other Rangers news, an ex-club employee says Nils Koppen has unearthed a gem at Ibrox.
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