Police asked for Hampden qualifier to be postponed

A POLICE request to postpone Saturday’s World Cup qualifier between Scotland and England was rejected last month by UEFA and the SFA. As Sportsmail first revealed, police chiefs are unhappy with the 5pm kick-off time at Hampden, believing it maximises the capacity for drinking and crowd trouble. Now Police Scotland have confirmed ‘discussions’ with

the SFA about Saturday’s high-risk fixture took place before the recent terrorist attacks in Manchester and London. However, SFA chief executive Stewart Regan said the date and kick-off time were set in 2015 to allow UEFA to sell fixtures to broadcasters. And he insisted the game would go ahead at 5pm as planned amid unprecedented security for a game in Scotland. Asked when police raised concerns over the date and time of the match, Regan revealed: ‘Three or four weeks ago. ‘They expressed concern about the fixture taking place on a Saturday afternoon and taking place at 5pm. ‘They expressed a preference for the match to be moved completely. Then we explained that wasn’t possible. ‘They then asked if the kick-off time could be moved and we had that dialogue but we are going with five o’clock on Saturday. ‘That has been the scheduled time since the end of 2015 and we will do everything possible together to make sure the match goes off cleanly. I think any conversation about the police’s methods and views is a matter for the police.’ Similar match scheduling led to clashes between Russian and English fans at Euro 2016. The English FA have also banned 34 members of the England Travel Club for offensive chants concerning World War Two during a recent friendly with Germany. With Saturday’s match taking place 48 hours after the General Election, Police Scotland remain concerned about raised tensions and asked the SFA to make representations to FIFA, unaware the fixture was a UEFA match. ‘The police had concerns and asked us to make representations to FIFA, believing it was a FIFA match... but the match is under UEFA’s jurisdiction,’ said Regan. ‘We made representations to UEFA and their view, like ours, was that this match had been in the calendar since 2015. It is still going to take place on a Saturday and to shift the kick-off time, in our opinion, wouldn’t have made a material impact. ‘They have accepted that position and as we have a very good working relationship with them, they have agreed to police the fixture the best way they possibly can.’ Since discussions between police and the SFA, security concerns have heightened following the terrorist atrocities in Manchester and London. Insisting Police Scotland and stewards will throw a ring of steel around Hampden to provide assurance to fans, Regan said: ‘Certainly, it’s the most heightened security operation I’ve been involved in during my time in Scotland. ‘There has been a wave of attacks, as we all know, and with everyone it just raises a concern that, as much as we feel Scotland is a safe place to be and our stadia are safe places, you can’t be complacent. ‘You have to treat every match as if it’s a major event, something could happen and therefore you have a robust plan in place.’