Football clubs should face sanctions for fan thuggery to prevent further 'mayhem', Scotland's police chief has warned. Chief Constable Jo Farrell stated that dozens of officers have been diverted from investigating serious crimes such as domestic abuse to track down fans responsible for disorder.
Arrests and Injuries
Nearly 50 people have been arrested for recent football-related anti-social behaviour, with police still trying to trace fans who attacked officers up to two years ago. Two police officers were injured in Glasgow city centre after Celtic beat Hearts 3-1 to win the league title on the last day of the season.
Call for Sanctions
Ms Farrell called for sanctions against clubs after warning that their bosses had 'shrugged off' the problem, which she said had become an 'embarrassment'. Potential measures include cutting the number of fans admitted to games or playing behind closed doors. The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) suggested clubs should have points docked or be expelled from championships.
The intervention marks a significant escalation by Ms Farrell, who made clear she wants firmer action by clubs as she delivered a report to a public board meeting of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA).
Recent Disorder
Her comments followed disorder at several games, including high-profile matches between Celtic and Rangers in the Scottish Cup and the Premiership title decider between Celtic and Hearts. A total of 47 arrests have been made in relation to these two matches, both of which featured pitch invasions.
Ms Farrell said trouble connected to football was escalating and becoming a 'significant public safety issue'. She stated: 'We cannot look towards another season of this mayhem.' She added that policing has a 'strong part to play in football, but there is no doubt that accountability and ownership is lacking around football in Scotland. Disorder, violence and thuggery is unchecked and is allowed to be shrugged off.'
Regulatory Framework
She emphasised the need for the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) to strengthen their regulatory framework and be clear about sanctions for pitch invasions.
SPF chairman David Threadgold told the Mail: 'The only thing that will truly impact on the minority of people who are intent on creating disorder is a removal of points if it’s a league fixture, or expulsion from a Cup competition. I have no doubt that will change the behaviour of the minority of people who intend causing violence because they know now there will be a tangible impact on the thing they love the most – and that is their football team.'
Political Response
Scottish Tory justice spokesman Stephen Kerr said: 'Anyone responsible for attacking and injuring police officers in the line of duty should be pursued and prosecuted. Our police officers should never be subjected to sustained violence simply for doing their job, yet SNP ministers continue to leave Police Scotland overstretched after years of cuts.'
SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell said some of Ms Farrell’s comments were 'fair comment'. He stated: 'We need to look at what we are doing as football to try and fix it. From an association perspective, crowd behaviour starts with the SPFL - obviously we work very closely with them. We need to engage with clubs to understand what it looks like, and I think the police can help. The SPFL talked about criminalising individuals coming on the pitch, criminalising tailgating getting into stadiums… all those would help solve the problems. But nothing alone is the panacea, nothing will fix all ills.'
An SPFL spokesman said it 'has been repeatedly clear that there is no place for disorder in the Scottish game.'
The Scottish Football Association has backed calls for legislation to tackle pitch invasions. However, Maxwell also warned that those inside the game had to do more to eradicate incursions from fans. He said: 'It’s more and more prevalent and we’ve seen it across every level of football. It’s not just the high-profile ones that get a bit of focus. There was an amateur cup final here at Hampden that had a pitch incursion. It’s just unacceptable across the game. We would support additional criminality. If the police were to criminalise individuals who come on to the pitch, individuals who tailgate to get into stadiums, if we can look to increase the football banning order legislation, then those things will help. But they’re not the be all and end all. Football has to do what it can do. We have to come together as football authorities and as clubs and review our rules and understand the opportunity we’ve got to try and introduce sanctions that will make people think twice about it. And if we don’t think we’ve got that, then we need to review our rules and update them because we can’t have a situation or situations like we’ve seen a lot towards the end of this season.'
