Fan behaviour plea as Old Firm clash in Scottish Cup final

The police federation, which represents rank and file officers, said dedicated fan zones would minimise the impact on businesses and people living in these areas.

General secretary David Kennedy said zones should be put in place similar to those for fans of European teams playing in Glasgow.

He told BBC Scotland News this would also ease the burden on officers.

“The police will have just under 1000 officers for the operational part of the cup final and they will be involved in crowd control and making sure people are safe,” he said.

“That can cause problems for the police service, because we have 1000 less officers and a lot of them are working on their rest days.

“Officers will deal with it as they always do. Any old firm game or cup final they know what will come from it.”

Mr Kennedy also urged fans to remember that many of the officers working at the match “will be fans themselves on either side”.

He said: “99.9% of the fans want to go and watch their team, see their team win then go home safely.

“The issues are what overspills outside the club. The clubs don’t pay for that and would probably argue that they don’t have to pay for that.”

Celtic declined to comment on their fans’ unofficial celebrations last weekend.

Council staff worked through the night to clear debris from the streets