SCOTLAND'S top cop is calling for football clubs to organise league title celebration events to avoid the chaos seen in recent years.
On Saturday, May 17, thousands of Celtic fans gathered in the Trongate area to celebrate the club's Scottish Premiership league title success.
The event saw 20 people arrested following the disorder, with cops saying 17 people were changed and four reported in connection with alleged offences including being in possession of pyrotechnics or offensive weapons, assault, and public order.
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Chief Constable Jo Farrell said hundreds of officers had to be drafted in to police the gathering despite pleas for it not to go ahead, The Scottish Sun reports.
She said: "We had 320 officers involved in our response — 320 officers not available to communities for other duties.
"We have another high-profile fixture this weekend and nobody wants to see disorder or violence associated with it."
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Speaking at a Scottish Police Authority board meeting, Chief Constable Farrell said in the future, there needs to be co-operation from Celtic and Rangers and the Scottish Football Association to organise an official event for fans to celebrate their team's success, the BBC reports.
She said: "We need to bring some control and some safety controls to these celebrations.
"The ideal is that we move to a position, in due course, where there is some organisation around these celebrations so that we can put in the right controls around safety and security."
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It comes after we previously reported furious locals hit out over the unofficial title party.
A group representing the local community has claimed that the club 'cannot control' its fans and slated the '11th hour' statement they made on Friday.
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A spokesperson for Merchant City and Trongate Community Council (MCTCC) said: “Once more, streets in the centre of Glasgow were taken over by thousands and thousands of Celtic supporters and turned into a No Go area for residents, businesses, and traffic, including emergency services and public transport.
“An historic monument, traffic lights and a subway station roof were climbed upon. Flares and firecrackers were set off. Normal life in and around Glasgow Cross and Trongate was brought to a standstill.
"Several hundred police did their duty at great cost to the public purse. Glasgow City Council cleansing staff faced the massive task of clearing up the mess - yet another expense to taxpayers.
“At the 11th hour, Celtic Football Club issued a statement the previous day asking their fans not to congregate en masse, noting it would be an unauthorised gathering.
"While we are grateful that, at long last, the Club spoke out, at least 15,000 fans ignored the belated appeal.
“It is clear Celtic cannot control its supporters when they take to the streets. We repeat our request, made two years ago, that should there be another such occasion the Club organises - at its cost - its own celebration at Parkhead, the Emirates across the road from the stadium, Glasgow Green or any other venue of its choice.
“This cannot be allowed to happen for a fourth successive year. We shall be reviewing Saturday’s events with Glasgow City Council, the police and our Scottish Parliamentary representatives, and will continue to press for urgent actions by all parties involved."
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Assistant Chief Constable Mark Sutherland said: “Our preference was for an organised event or fanzone which would cause far less disruption, reduce levels of antisocial behaviour and improve public safety.
“Police Scotland requested this be considered with our partners, including Celtic FC and Glasgow City Council, as part of planning discussions.
“Unfortunately, this option wasn’t progressed."
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