DO YOUR DUTY

Police warn Old Firm to be on best behaviour

THE police chief in charge of Sunday’s potentially explosive Old Firm clash last night warned Rangers and Celtic players they have a duty to avoid inflaming rival supporters.

Chief Superintendent Brian McInulty, local police commander for Greater Glasgow, will spearhead an operation involving 450 officers before and after the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.

Officers have already visited all four semi-finalists, which includes Hibs and Dundee United, to provide a list of dos-and-don’ts this weekend.

And Police Scotland will be anxious to avoid a repeat of the disgraceful scenes which followed the Cup clash between Hearts and Hibs at Tynecastle in February when a large group of men fought in the streets of Edinburgh city centre. Yesterday, it was revealed that more than 30 have now been charged with football-related disorder as a result of that incident.

‘We have worked very closely with all four of the clubs involved in the semifinals and there is a message there for the players. And it extends to supporters as well,’ said McInulty.

‘Let’s make sure we remember this for the right reason.

‘It is a football match we are talking about. For me, football players are role models, there is no doubt about that.

‘Quite often what happens on the pitch

can influence people. We have reminded the players of that. Experience shows that. ‘Although we had a game 12 months ago, a lot of the Rangers and Celtic players have not experienced this fixture. So it’s about learning for them. ‘There is a real strong sense of anticipation for this game. We have reminded the players of the potential impact that their behaviour on the park could have on people watching. ‘They are role models. That’s the message we have delivered and hopefully on Monday we can look back on two fantastic games of football and we are talking about a Celtic and Rangers game for the right reasons.’ McInulty wants no repeat of the infamous meeting of the clubs five years ago that resulted in a raft of red cards, a touchline spat between Ally McCoist and Neil Lennon, police leading El Hadji Diouf down the tunnel and a Scottish government summit. ‘It’s a game of football and a competitive sporting event,’ he said. ‘We don’t want to be intervening on matters on the pitch unless it’s an absolute emergency situation, clearly. ‘Our operation is based around safety. ‘But that’s for all the towns and cities around Scotland, not just the stadium.’ Last season’s Old Firm League Cup semi-final drew criticism following sectarian singing involving thousands of supporters. Recent SPFL proposals for facial recognition cameras in stadia have floundered due to a lack of government funding. Insisting acts of bigotry could still be punished, however, McInulty added: ‘Any form of criminality we become aware of, we will investigate. ‘We will deal with it at the time if it’s appropriate, but if it’s not dealt with at the time we can deal with it retrospectively.’