A GIANT mural of Scott McTominay's famous overhead kick in Glasgow has been given the green light to stay after city planners ruled it is not a commercial advertisement.
The 36-foot artwork on Somerville Drive in Mount Florida pays tribute to McTominay's stunning bicycle kick against Denmark during Scotland's World Cup-qualifying victory at Hampden Park.
The mural towers over Lesser Hampden and faces the West Stand of Scotland's national stadium.
It was commissioned by the Scottish Football Association and Adidas and painted by London-based agency Global Street Art after its unveiling in February.
City planners took the view that the mural is not a commercial advert but rather a depiction of a moment in time.
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As such, showing McTominay wearing an Adidas Scotland shirt and Adidas F50 boots — as he was when he scored the goal — was considered accurate rather than promotional.
The Napoli midfielder has been a key figure for Scotland since his debut in 2018, scoring 15 goals and earning 70 caps, the most recent coming in Scotland's World Cup warm-up against Bolivia in New Jersey on Saturday.
The ruling contrasts with growing concern in the city over commercial murals exploiting planning loopholes.
The Herald revealed in April that no consent was obtained for a large commercial mural promoting James McAvoy's film California Schemin', which appeared on the side of the Glasgow Collective building near the Barrowland Ballroom.
The mural featured the film's tagline "Get Rich or Try Lyin'" and the words "California Schemin' in cinemas April 10", prompting fresh calls from Glasgow Labour MSP Paul Sweeney for an end to firms "exploiting" the system.
Temporary commercial murals with a lifespan of less than four weeks are being used to effectively sidestep the need for advertising consent, by exploiting the "28 day rule" for the temporary use of land contained within Scottish planning regulations.
In June 2024, a mural featuring McTominay, Andy Robertson and Ché Adams appeared on a listed Dennistoun tenement to coincide with the UEFA European Championships, commissioned by mobile network EE as part of a campaign calling on fans to challenge hate in football.
Despite being on a listed building in a conservation area — which would normally require both planning and advertising consent — no permission was sought, and the mural was painted over within 28 days.
Previous murals in the same Dennistoun location, including ones for banking brand The Current Account Switch Service and shoe retailer Clarks, followed the same pattern of appearing and vanishing within the 28-day window.
On that occasion, BAFTA Scotland award-winning photographer and filmmaker Chris Leslie warned it was a "slippery slope to massive semi-permanent ads across the city."
Glasgow is already home to the City Centre Mural Trail, which launched in 2014 to revitalise vacant sites and celebrate local culture, and has since become a major draw for visitors and a point of civic pride.
