Scotland's First Minister John Swinney has declared he would not take his teenage son to an Old Firm derby following the shocking scenes of disorder that erupted after last weekend's match between Rangers and Celtic. The Scottish Cup quarter-final at Ibrox descended into chaos as supporters from both sides stormed the pitch, leading to multiple arrests and reports of attacks on stewards and police officers.
First Minister Condemns "Intolerable" Fan Behaviour
Mr Swinney described the fans' actions as "completely and utterly unacceptable", highlighting the severe risks posed to other spectators, staff, officers, and players. "The risk to other fans, to members of the stewarding staff, to police officers, to players, was just terrible," he stated emphatically. When directly questioned about whether he would bring his teenage son Matthew to such an event, the First Minister's response was a firm and unequivocal "No."
No Call for Closed-Door Games, But Urgent Action Needed
Despite his strong condemnation, Mr Swinney stopped short of advocating for future Old Firm fixtures to be played behind closed doors without supporters. "I would rather that's not the case, but I think none of us can watch those scenes and think that there isn't something that's got to give as a consequence of what happened at the weekend," he explained. The First Minister emphasised the necessity of taking time to engage with the clubs and the Scottish Football Association to determine the most effective course of action.
History of Clashes and Proposed Solutions
This incident is not isolated, with clashes flaring repeatedly in recent years during encounters between the two rival teams. A notable example occurred during the 2024 League Cup final, where police were compelled to utilise special powers to facilitate searches after reports of missiles being thrown at officers and vandalism to a city centre pub.
Mr Swinney outlined a multi-faceted approach to curbing the violence:
- Apprehending those responsible, with Police Scotland actively pursuing this.
- Fostering engagement between the clubs, the SFA, and the Government to implement measures preventing recurrence.
- Reviewing and potentially strengthening football banning orders, following a recent consultation that garnered significant response.
"The way through this, I think, is it's got to involve, first of all, the people responsible being apprehended, and the police are pursuing that," Mr Swinney said. "I welcome what Police Scotland are doing. There's also got to be engagement between the clubs, the Scottish Football Association and the Government about what further steps can be taken to avoid a recurrence of this behaviour, because it is just quite simply intolerable that we have that now."
Future Legislative Considerations
Looking ahead, the First Minister indicated that if re-elected in May, his government will scrutinise these issues in the next parliamentary session. "We've just concluded a consultation on football banning orders – we have football banning orders available already, we've got to review them periodically to see if they remain appropriate for the times. We're analysing the outcome of that and there's been a big response to that and we need to do that carefully, then in the next Parliament, we'll have to look at these issues," he concluded, underscoring a commitment to long-term solutions beyond immediate condemnation.
