Police Scotland has been ordered to publish discussions on the planned operations surrounding Rangers fans' 'shameful' title party celebrations last year.
Thousands of Rangers fans descended on Ibrox and George Square, Glasgow, in March 2021 to celebrate the club's victory, but were slammed for breaching lockdown rules.
Around 30 people were arrested over the weekend, with some connected to assaults of officers. Last year the force released 17 pages of almost wholly redacted correspondence in response to a Freedom of Information.
It came after initially claiming their disclosure was not in the public interest. But after a year-long probe, the force has now been told to release the information following a ruling by the Scottish Information Commissioner.
Deputy first minister John Swinney branded the scenes on March 6 and 7 last year as 'shameful'. The celebrations caused ructions between Police Scotland, Rangers and the Government.
The force and ministers accused the club of not doing enough to prevent the gatherings. Police Scotland was asked to release details of discussions with the SPFL, the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council, about its policing plans ahead of the weekend.
Superintendent Stephen Dolan, who described himself as having 'responsibility' for the policing operation that weekend, the company secretary and director of operations at the SPFL, Calum Beattie, and an unnamed Government official were involved in the discussions.
Refusing the request, Police Scotland initially claimed releasing the information would 'compromise operational policing'.
They later claimed disclosure would stop officers being able to catch criminals by giving them a 'heads-up' on the quality of its information. But the argument was rejected by the Scottish Information Commissioner.
In most cases, the commissioner accepts that legally available exemptions to public bodies apply, but often rules in favour of disclosure when considering a key test known as the 'public interest test'.
In this case, however, the commissioner said the exemptions used by Police Scotland on the substantive content simply did not apply.
He said: "He does not agree, however, that it provides enough detail about likely strategies or resources that would be deployed to enable anyone to understand or pre-empt Police Scotland's policing of this or future matches, celebrations, protests or marches.
"While the commissioner agrees that protection of individuals and communities from crime and disorder is of the upmost importance, he is not persuaded from the withheld information or the submissions made by Police Scotland that the detail in the withheld information would allow anyone, even a determined individual, to take steps to avoid detection or increase the threat of criminal behaviour."
Police Scotland have until September 5 to publish the information. A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We have received the decision, which will be considered and responded to in due course."
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