Speaking to the Press Association this week, John Swinney said the actions of the fans involved were “completely and utterly unacceptable”. John Swinney condemned the violent scenes which marred the end of the Old Firm tie at Ibrox last weekend (Andrew Milligan/PA)“The risk to other fans, to members of the stewarding staff, to police officers, to players, was just terrible,” he said. Asked if he would take his teenage son Matthew to an Old Firm game, the First Minister said: “No.”But he stopped short of suggesting future Old Firm games should be played behind closed doors, without supporters in attendance. “The way through this, I think, is it’s got to involve, first of all, the people responsible being apprehended, and the police are pursuing that,” he said. “We’ve just concluded a consultation on football banning orders – we have football banning orders available already, we’ve got to review them periodically to see if they remain appropriate for the times.

Source: The Times March 14, 2026 12:08 UTC