Police found a stash of “potentially dangerous items” including a “baseball bat” after members of the Rangers ultras group the Union Bears were given early access to Ibrox Stadium ahead of the Ne’erday derby.
And they were ejected from the ground just hours before the clash with Celtic following the discovery, reports The Scottish Sun. The haul was found in a bin after supporters were allowed entry ahead of the 12.30pm kick off to lay out banners in the Broomloan Road Stand.
Superintendent Emma Croft told the newspaper: “Police engaged with a group of supporters given access to Ibrox in advance of the Rangers v Celtic fixture. During a cursory search, a number of potentially dangerous items were found secreted in the stadium. Two men have been reported to the fiscal for minor drug offences. Inquiries are ongoing.”
The same report states that there were disturbances two days before the match, which ended in a 2-2 draw with Ryan Kent and James Tavernier scoring for the home side, with Ibrox staff calling cops after clashes. Supt Croft added: “Shortly before 4pm on Saturday, police received a number of calls reporting disturbances and males with weapons near Ibrox. Police attended and there was no trace of any disturbance on arrival.”
The news comes after fans group the Broomloan Collective released a statement on New Year’s Day claiming police had put the blocks on any tifo at the match and denying them access to the stadium.
They said: "There will be no Tifo or actions in the Broomloan Stand. This is due to increased pressure in weeks being applied to Rangers by Police Scotland who have now blocked access to the stadium to set up a tifo. We have been informed the Police will have increased searches for those at the Broomloan Front turnstiles and in particular those entering BFI."
