Celtic this afternoon released a statement relating to the incidents of violence, vandalising and sectarianism at the weekend that is likely to responsible for the reported increase in positive cases of coronavirus this week. The reckless events at Ibrox on Saturday followed by the shameful behaviour of theRangers supporters in Glasgow City Centre on Sunday – coupled by the failure of the 9 year old Ibrox club to tell their supporters to celebrate at home – has resulted in the Scottish Government threatening to pull the Glasgow Derby at Celtic Park next Sunday.

The Celtic Store in Argyle Street was vandalised on Sunday and as one newspaper put it, this happened while theRangers fans were celebrating in George Square! Incredible stuff really. Celtic have also confirmed that additional security measures have had to be put in place to protect the club’s assets, such as the statues outside the ground. The Celtic Way will be fenced off and closed from 7pm each night and additional security staff will be on duty.

In today’s statement Celtic make a point of mentioning that last weekend’s disgraceful events had nothing whatsoever to do with the Celtic support and confirms that the Scottish Government is aware of this fact.

Celtic also point out that during our trophy winning events during the lockdown period – when 9IAR was won last May and the Scottish Cup and thus the Quadruple Treble won in December Celtic on each occasion advised the support to celebrate at home and not to gather together. In the main these requests were heeded by the vast majority of the Celtic support on both occasions.

Here is the statement from Celtic…

Celtic FC can confirm that the Club will participate in a multi-agency meeting to discuss preparations for our match on March 21.

The Scottish Government has already made clear to Celtic that it does not in any way associate the scenes last weekend with Celtic or our supporters. Although Celtic and our supporters are desperate to get back to Celtic Park to support the team, the Club and our supporters are of course mindful of the risks associated with public gatherings at this important time.

The Club has been clear in our messaging to our supporters of the importance of staying at home in line with applicable guidance throughout the pandemic. We have communicated regularly around our fixtures and our supporters have worked with the Club responsibly – the celebrations after our historic nine in row title triumph last summer and after our unprecedented quadruple treble Scottish Cup win in December are two key examples of that.

We will re-emphasise that message for this fixture as we have done during the season and we are sure that our supporters will work with the Club while the restrictions remain in place.

Given the damage caused to Club property recently, the Club has already taken steps to enhance security and protection of our property at Celtic Park and the Club is happy to work with those attending the meeting to ensure that any additional protection necessary will be in place for the match in question.

Photo: Jane Barlow

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