Nicola Sturgeon slams ‘thuggish behaviour’ of Rangers supporters over bottles thrown during Old Firm clash as SPFL urge fans to come forward

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has condemned the “thuggish behaviour” of Rangers supporters who threw bottles during yesterday’s Old Firm showdown at Ibrox.

The start of the second half was delayed by five minutes after shards of broken glass were thrown into the Celtic penalty area as goalkeeper Joe Hart helped ground staff scan the box.

A member of the Hoops staff was then struck by an object thrown from the stands at the end of the first-half and later required stitches to a head wound.

Police Scotland and Rangers have launched an investigation into the incidents with Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou criticising the individuals involved.

He said: “It is disappointing because this is a fixture that gets beamed around the world. Two teams going at it, first and second spot.

“You don’t need a couple of idiots ruining it. I don’t know what people are trying to achieve by doing that.

“Sitting here now as the winning coach, that kind of taints my view of it, but I thought anybody watching that would agree it was a good game of football.”

Rangers counterpart Giovanni van Bronckhorst added: “It’s never good the game has to be stopped” and that “safety is first”.

Speaking to LBC, Sturgeon said: “This sort of behaviour is not acceptable. Whether it happens at a football match or in the street, people throwing glass bottles is just not acceptable.

“It’s mindless, thuggish behaviour and it has no place in any civilised society, but these are matters for the authorities, obviously for the football authorities and potentially for the police and criminal justice authorities.

“Regardless of what team you support, I’m not the world’s biggest football fan and not just because my team Ayr United, but people should be able to enjoy football.”

The SPFL have appealed to fans who have any information about the separate incidents to contact Police Scotland.

An SPFL spokesperson said: “We await the match delegate’s report, and we would urge any fans with information about these incidents to contact the police.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We are aware of a glass bottle being thrown at Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow, during the Rangers v Celtic match on Sunday, 3 April, 2022.

“One man has sustained injuries as a result of this and required treatment.

“Enquiries are currently ongoing to establish the full circumstances.”