Police Scotland chief hails bravery of cops injured in Celtic title party chaos

SCOTLAND’S top cop hailed the bravery of four cops who were injured as Celtic fans celebrated their favourite’s title triumph.

Chief Constable Jo Farrell said the quartet were among hundreds of officers who put public safety before their own amid chaotic scenes.

And she insisted her officers were gearing up for this weekend’s Scottish Cup final when the Hoops take on arch rivals in a Hampden Park powderkeg.

She said: “Brave officers work to serve their communities and at times put themselves in harm’s way to keep people safe.

“I pay tribute to their courage and I am absolutely clear on my duty to support them and advocate on their behalf.

“During last weekend in Glasgow we saw four officers injured while responding to disorder when thousands gathered to celebrate Celtic’s winning of the Scottish Premiership title.

”The Scottish Cup Final will be held this weekend in Glasgow and an appropriate policing plan is in place.

“And I thank all officers and staff who will be working to keep communities safe across Glasgow and across the country.”

Ms Farrell was speaking at today’s Scottish Police Authority meeting.

We told of calls for organised football fan zones in a bid to stop the ‘unacceptable’ scenes that followed Celtic’s Premiership win.

Thousands of boozed-up Hoops fans gathered in the city on Saturday for a chaotic title knees-up that left the streets covered in debris.

Scottish Labour MSP Paul Sweeney told the BBC he had spoken to Celtic directors about “formalising events” to encourage partying fans against mass street gathering.

Mr Sweeney said: “I think  Glasgow needs to lean into this a bit more.

“We’re seeing on each occasion we are seeing around £90,000 of vandalism caused and clean-up costs.”

We told how four cops were injured and 19 people were arrested at the fans’ title party.

The booze-fuelled bash was marred by violent and antisocial behaviour – with footage shared online appearing to show a youth being knocked to the ground and a bus shelter wrecked.

Superintendent John Menzies said the celebrations continued “for a prolonged period of time”, adding: “Assaults on the public or police officers are unacceptable, and we continue to work to identify those responsible.”