Final horror
Youngster was in tears as pitch invasion turned ugly
A Cambuslang dad has spoken of his disgust after his nine-yearold daughter was caught up in the trouble at the recent Scottish Cup Final.
Rebecca Taylor was the official mascot to referee, Steven MacLean, and was left shaken after fans clashed on the pitch.
A Cambuslang dad told of his daughter’s terror as she witnessed Hibernian fans invading the pitch following their team’s victory in the Scottish Cup final.
Rangers fan Rebecca Taylor ( 9), had been chosen as the personal mascot for referee Steven MacLean for the match on Saturday, May 21 after she won a competition with Specsavers.
But the Hallside Primary pupil’s day to remember turned into a nightmare after witnessing fans of both teams fight each other while Rangers players were confronted and attacked on the pitch.
Ugly scenes of violence flared as Hibs fans ran onto the Hampden turf after captain David Gray’s injury time winner for the Edinburgh side.
Rebecca’s dad, Stewart, 40, from Cambuslang, was disgusted by the scenes.
He said: “To stand there and witness that with my daughter was shocking.
“It was shameful. It’s now a day she’ll never forget for all the wrong reasons.
“Rebecca was shaking and terrified and in tears at the end of it.
“She was petrified and crying and telling my wife she wanted to get out.
“It was ugly, and not something you want to see when you are attracting families.”
Thousands poured from Hampden’s north, south and east stands within seconds of the final whistle after Hibs’ dramatic 3-2 win.
A section of Rangers supporters also broke onto the pitch.
Rebecca witnessed turf being ripped up and the goalposts brought down.
Stewart added: “She was buzzing for the whole day after meeting the players and Mark Warburton but it has been completely ruined.
“We were sitting in the south stand.
“The Hibs fans were almost over the hoarding and into the fans’ area where I was with my daughter. I am disgusted.”
Hibernian won the Scottish Cup for the first time in 114 years but fan trouble is expected to warrant a large fine and possible further action on the Easter Road side.
Scottish FA chief executive Stewart Regan condemned the behaviour of supporters which marred the match.
He said: “Scottish FA is appalled by the scenes of disorder on the field immediately after full- time and at the contemptible behaviour that ensued.
“What should have been an historic, memorable Scottish Cup final will now, sadly, be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
“Police Scotland and the stadium management initiated a Crisis Liaison Group as soon as the disorder began and we thank them for containing the situation as quickly as possible.
“The Scottish FA, along with Police Scotland and the stadium management have initiated a full investigation into the scenes that unfolded to understand how such a volume of supporters were able to enter the field.”
A spokeswoman from Specsavers said: “Specsavers has a longstanding partnership with the Scottish FA through the sponsorship of its match of f i c i a l s, and ma sc o t competitions have always proven extremely popular.
“The SFA has confirmed it plans to contact the family of the mascot and has announced an independent investigation is set to take place.”