Supporters urged to report on fellow fans by police

Aftermath of flares thrown at Stranraer during cup clash with Celtic

One of Scotland’s top cops has also revealed that people linked to 16 clubs for offensive behaviour.

The problem became front page headlines after flares were thrown on to the pitch during a Scottish Cup clash between Celtic and Stranraer last week.

The Glasgow Club has since suspended three supporters since the incident and an investigation continues, with police using social media in a bid to find the culprits.

Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Higgins urged spectators to report anything that makes them “uncomfortable” at football matches.

He revealed: “This season so far, we’ve had 32 incidents of pyrotechnics or flares being thrown or discharged at matches. Some of the incidents it’s been three, four, five, six flares that have been thrown.

“That’s a real danger, someone is going to get hurt. We’ve had a couple of real near misses. But it is potentially really quite life-threatening.”

Speaking about sectarian incidents, he said: “Somebody once talked about the 90-minute bigot but there is no such thing.

“If you are sitting at a game and you’re uncomfortable because of something you see or something you hear, the reality is people around you will probably be uncomfortable as well.”

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Mr Higgins added: “That’s unacceptable. What I would urge you to do is go and report it to the steward or go and report it to a police officer.”

He added: “We’ve arrested people associated with 16 different clubs in Scotland.

“So, it’s not exclusive to the Old Firm, it’s not exclusive to the top flight. That’s 16 clubs right the way through all divisions.”