Old Firm's hate and violence culture shown the red card

FOR decades murder, stabbings, violent assault and battered wives have been accepted as an unalterable shadow cast by the floodlights of Old Firm football.

Yesterday, armed by disturbing statistics that prove a drunken crime wave is triggered by Celtic and Rangers games, the Scottish Government and Strathclyde Police launched a major initiative to reclaim the tarnished sporting spectacle.

While violence inside football stadiums has dropped, it has risen in the back streets, the pubs and the family homes of Strathclyde during the 24 hours that surround the game.

Serious violent crime has surged by 113 per cent during the past three Old Firm matches, while domestic abuse climbed by 41 per cent and anti-social behaviour by 28 per cent according to figures compiled by Strathclyde Police.

Justice secretary Kenny MacAskill said Scotland had reached "the tipping point" and drunken violence around the game had to stop. He described the statistics as "stark and shameful."

British Transport Police said the number of incidents it dealt with during Old Firm matches increased by up to 175 per cent. The match at Ibrox tomorrow is the final SPL clash between the Glasgow teams this season. Strathclyde Police has drafted in 1,000 extra officers this weekend as part of a high-visibility campaign aimed at reducing violence. They will patrol bars to ensure alcohol is being served and consumed responsibly and visit homes with a history of domestic abuse.

Officers will also carry out bail and curfew checks as part of the operation, which has the backing of Rangers and Celtic.

Yesterday Stephen House, the chief constable of Strathclyde Police, said: "In the run-up to the match and up to 24 hours after the match we experience an increase in violence and anti-social behaviour which is very noticeable and extremely worrying.

"Drink, elation, rivalry, anger – none of this is an excuse for violence. We are going to come down hard on the people who are responsible for the violence, whether it is domestic abuse, stranger attacks or attacks on gangs driven by football rivalry."

The survey by Strathclyde Police found levels of serious violent crime had peaked twice this year, on Sunday 15 February and Sunday 15 March, on both days Celtic played Rangers. On 15 February there was 39 serious assaults and one attempted murder, the following month there was 28 serious assaults and four attempted murders. The normal Sunday average is 15 serious violent crimes.

Domestic abuse incidents have also peaked on two occasions since December, again both dates coincide with Old Firm matches, (Saturday 27 December and 15 February) with 193 and 185 incidents, compared to the average of 123 incidents.

Yesterday, the chief executive of the SFA, Gordon Smith, said the Old Firm was one of the biggest football occasions not just in Scotland but the world, and that both clubs and the SFA fully supported the crackdown.

He said: "It is important that at the end of the match, we are talking about what happened on the pitch, not being embarrassed by events off it."

Yesterday the chief constable insisted that neither club held any responsibility for the trouble that occurred.

Chief Constable House said: "These are huge teams – Celtic and Rangers are in the fabric of Scotland, there is a culture going back years. There is a rivalry, based, decades back, on religious beliefs and of course there is still an element of that. The clubs don't do anything to promote the violence – they do the opposite, they try and reduce the violence."

Dr Joe Bradle, a senior lecturer in the department of sports studies at the University of Stirling, said: "The day of a Rangers and Celtic match is one that can make spectacularly manifest Scottish society's well established predilection for alcohol abuse and violence. The link with domestic violence and a Rangers and Celtic match is the massive rise in the communal consumption of alcohol and the well-known problems that over indulgence brings".

Independent MSP Margo MacDonald said: "I would not say that domestic abuse is connected to Rangers and Celtic. I think it is more to do with the amounts of alcohol and disappointment with the turf accounts and the result"

Last night Kenny Scott, head of security and operations at Rangers Football Club, said: "The figures are indeed disturbing and Rangers Football Club join the police in condemning those who commit such acts. It is, however, a problem which cannot be laid solely or simply at the doors of the Old Firm clubs.

"The police themselves have concluded that the majority of offenders do not in fact attend football matches. Instead it would appear that offenders are largely found amongst those who over indulge in alcohol in licensed premises for excessive periods on the days of Old Firm matches before returning home and engaging in violent behaviour."

Death and violence on the streets

VIOLENT clashes between rival football supporters after Old Firm matches have claimed a number of lives in recent years. Dozens have also been arrested for other serious crimes.

Medics say hospital admissions in the west of Scotland more than double on days when the clubs meet.

Rangers supporter Frank Fenwick, 24, of Ayrshire, was stabbed to death in December 2000 after a long-running feud with a Celtic fan.

Celtic fan Mark Scott was another victim of Old Firm rivalry which spiralled out of control – he was knifed to death by Jason Campbell, whose family were linked to the UVF, in 1995.

In September last year, Celtic coach Neil Lennon was attacked by two Rangers fans in the west end of Glasgow.

David Whitelaw and Jeffrey Carrigan were jailed for two years after punching the star to the ground and kicking him in the head and body as he lay unconscious in Ashton Lane.

The attack started after the men tried to taunt Mr Lennon about Rangers' 4-2 win over Celtic earlier that day.

In September 2006, violence broke out after an Old Firm clash as Rangers fans went on a rampage in Glasgow city centre.

About 30 supporters sparked a mini riot as they marched up the High Street towards McChuills, traditionally a Celtic fans' pub.

But violence has not always been confined to Glasgow.

The final Old Firm match in the 2004-5 season was followed by an eruption of sectarian violence across the west of Scotland.

In a series of bloody clashes in the aftermath of Celtic's victory at Ibrox, shoppers were left shaken as fans fought running battles in Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire.

A riot broke out on the Troon to Larne ferry service as up to 100 rival fans clashed on their return journey to Northern Ireland after the game.

In December 2002, rioting erupted in Derry after Celtic fans began taunting their rivals during the Apprentice Boys' annual march.

Comment: Unacceptable face of Scottish football

ALCOHOL-FUELLED violence, disorder and anti-social behaviour has absolutely no place in Scotland. It is completely unacceptable to think that, because there is a high-profile football match on, it is OK to drink excessive amounts of alcohol and commit acts of violence.

Recently published figures indicate a higher than average level of domestic abuse, serious violent crime, disorder and antisocial behaviour coinciding with Old Firm football matches.

It is clear that there is a problem that may have previously been accepted by society yet not fully understood.

But let's be clear; the fault does not lie with the clubs. The responsibility should be placed firmly on individuals who get drunk and engage in this type of unacceptable behaviour.

In our experience, this type of violence is caused almost entirely by people who have not been at the game, are drunk, and who think that because there's a football match on, it is an excuse to conduct themselves in a violent manner.

To say drinking to excess is a cultural issue in Scotland does not mean we should accept this. We no longer accept drink driving and smoking in pubs so why should attitudes towards drinking to excess and related violence be any different?

Strathclyde Police is committed to stamping out this kind of behaviour whether it is on the day of an Old Firm game or any other day, and this major crackdown demonstrates that.

The force will focus additional resources and activity on proactive and preventative measures and partnership working before, during and after the game.

It doesn't matter who is playing, there is never an excuse for drunken violence and disorder on the streets, in our pubs and clubs, or in our homes.

• John Neilson is Strathclyde Police Assistant Chief Constable.