Police officers injured during ‘serious disorder’ after Celtic’s title win

Officers were injured during “serious disorder” as police dispersed crowds in the Trongate area of Glasgow where Celtic fans gathered following their Scottish Premiership title win.

Around 3,000 supporters gathered in the area to celebrate their team’s victory against Hearts.

Some fans were seen climbing traffic lights and other objects around the Trongate.

Police wearing riot gear moved in to clear the streets later in the evening, with Police Scotland saying bottles and other missiles had been thrown at officers.

By around 7.30pm, the streets were mostly empty of people though large amounts of rubbish had been left behind.

Police Scotland said officers went into the crowd to assist with a medical emergency “and were faced with significant levels of hostility, with bottles and other missiles thrown at them”.

People were asked to leave the area and the force later said that a number of arrests had been made.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Sutherland said: “While we recognise that the majority of fans respected the appeal from police and partners to act responsibly, several thousand still descended on the Trongate area, some of whom engaged in serious disorder.

“Once again, we have seen unacceptable levels of violence and anti-social behaviour and Police Scotland’s officers have been left to deal with the consequences. Being assaulted is not part of the job and regrettably a number of them were injured.

“The levels of criminal behaviour witnessed, in particular the hostility directed towards our officers, is simply unacceptable and cannot be tolerated. Those involved should be in no doubt that they will be identified and arrested.

“This mass assembly of people caused significant disruption to local businesses, residents and members of the public in the city centre.

“Urgent discussions with Celtic, wider Scottish football authorities and other stakeholders, including Glasgow City Council, is required to achieve a solution that improves public safety, reduces disruption and prevents this from happening again.”

Following the win at Parkhead, the streets were filled with green and white as fans left the stadium.

The victory meant that Celtic won the Scottish Premiership, with Martin O’Neill’s side defeating the Jambos 3-1.

Hearts players had to be escorted off the pitch as thousands of Celtic fans spilled on to the field following the final goal.

The Edinburgh club later released a statement condemning the “shameful” scenes, saying: “Reports of serious physical and verbal abuse towards our players and staff, both on the pitch and elsewhere, are deeply disturbing.

“We are investigating this fully and are in dialogue with Police Scotland.

“We will make no further comment at this time other than to say that it is completely unacceptable that our players and staff were put in that situation.”

The club added: “The pitch invasion caused a chaotic end and nobody seemed to know whether or not the match had been brought to a finish.”

Police Scotland said they were engaging with Hearts to establish if any of the club’s players were assaulted on the pitch at the end of the match.

There was a large police presence in the Trongate area and several roads around the Trongate were closed ahead of the celebrations from Celtic supporters.

The force had earlier accused Celtic of failing to put plans in place for official celebrations following the conclusion of the William Hill Premiership.

A senior officer said the policing plans around the potential Celtic celebrations had led to rest days for police being cancelled.

However Glasgow City Council said it did not recognise this description of the club’s approach.

Celtic had urged fans to avoid gathering in the city centre following the game on Saturday, asking supporters to be mindful of the wider community.

Published: 17/05/2026 by Radio NewsHub