OLD Firm fans have been warned not to display offensive banners at Saturday's game - or they will face the full force of the law.
Chief Inspector Brian McInulty (above) has issued the advice ahead of the Scottish Premiership fixture at Ibrox Stadium in a bid to quash hate crime.
His warning comes after Celtic supporters came under fire for producing a banner and dangled two plastic effigies with hands tied behind their backs in the manner of an execution at the last fixture at Parkhead on September.
The hanging blow up dolls adorned with Rangers scarves could be seen at the start of the live TV coverage of the match as the players took to the pitch.
A toilet block was also extensively damaged at Parkhead. Roof tiles and lights were smashed and cubicle doors broken inside the away section of Celtic Park.
Chief Inspector McInulty has now issued a list of 'don'ts' before the fixture which will coincide with Hogmanay.
He warned: "That small minority determined to cause disorder, anti-social or offensive behaviour will be met with the full force of the law.
"Officers will actively tackle those who put the safety of others at risk."
Police Scotland have said that specific operations are in place for the match at Ibrox Stadium.
They have warned supporters that it is a offence to use threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour or to display written material likely to stir up hate crimes.
They also said that it is an offence to enter Ibrox Stadium or any other sports ground if you are in possession of any pyrotechnic device including flares, fireworks and pellets.
Police Scotland will also come down on supporters who attempt to enter the stadium either drunk or with alcohol in their possession.
Officers will patrol buses or mini-buses for spot checks to see if anyone on-board is drunk or has alcohol in their possession.
Supporters are also urged not to drink in public.
Chief Inspector McInulty said: "Our policing approach is about early intervention, prevention and engagement, and people should expect to see more officers proactively targeting the small amount of people intent on drinking to excess or behaving badly.
“I completely understand that people want to have a good time and for some, that means drinking alcohol.
"However the safety of people visiting the stadium or just the city of Glasgow itself, is our priority and I would urge people not to drink when coming to the stadium, as you’ll not get in. Drink responsibly if out later at night and keep yourself and your belongings safe. Know how you’re getting home and plan it ahead."
The advice to the rest of the city is to plan their journey with Glasgow expected to be busier than usual due to Hogmanay and the football fixture.
Chief Inspector McInulty said: "This is no doubt an exciting weekend for many people, whether it’s to enjoy a day of shopping at the sales, attending a football match or gearing up to celebrate the New Year.
“It does mean that the city will be busier throughout the day and night. Together with our partners, we have robust policing plans in place to account for this with public safety being our priority.”
He added, “Given the time of year, it would be expected that alcohol will play a part in some of the activities but I would urge people to drink responsibly, plan your outing in advance and ensure you stay with friends and family who know where you are.
"Expect to see more officers in and around stadiums, shopping centres, on approaches to Glasgow and in the city centre itself.
“We want to keep people safe whilst they enjoy football, parties and celebrations as part of our Festive Safety campaign. Have a great weekend and a happy New Year.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article