‘Life-threatening violence narrowly avoided’ during ugly scenes at Old Firm clash

• An independent report into Celtic 's Scottish Cup victory at Ibrox concluded that "crushing" and "life-threatening violence" were narrowly avoided, leading to disciplinary charges against both Celtic and Rangers by the Scottish Football Association .
• The review detailed two critical "near-misses": Green Brigade ultras overwhelming police and stewards outside, creating a significant crushing risk, and masked home fans armed with poles and reinforced gloves coming within a very small margin of a violent mass confrontation.
• Significant planning failures were identified, including a 10-day delay in finalising the 8,042 away ticket allocation, only one multi-agency meeting held, and Police Scotland's inadequate deployment of officers and lack of a plan for ticketless fans.
• The report also highlighted widespread unacceptable conduct, such as sectarian chanting, pyrotechnics, objects thrown at players and officials, racial abuse, and "provocation" from the Rangers mascot and stadium DJ, with a 10-year-old Celtic fan injured by a coin.
• The Scottish football authorities were criticised for their "modest, deferred and inconsistently applied" sanctions, with the report making over 30 recommendations, including reviewing away ticket allocation rules and holding clubs more accountable for supporter misbehaviour.