Rangers win celebrated by large Belfast crowd despite Covid lockdown

  • Published
Rangers fans in Belfast celebrating title win
Image caption,

A large crowd of Rangers fans gathered in the Shankill area following the club's Scottish Premiership title win

A large crowd of Rangers fans took to the streets in Belfast to celebrate the football team's Scottish Premiership win in spite of strict Covid-19 rules in Northern Ireland.

The gathering happened in the Shankill area on Sunday after the Glasgow team became league champions for the first time in 10 years.

The win denied rivals Celtic a 10th title in a row.

Under Covid-19 guidelines, public gatherings are currently prohibited.

Earlier on Sunday evening, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) urged people to stay at home.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip twitter post by Police Service NI

Allow Twitter content?

This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of twitter post by Police Service NI

In Scotland, large numbers of supporters made their way to Ibrox Stadium and Glasgow's George Square to mark the achievement despite warnings to stay at home.

Nicola Sturgeon said the crowds were "infuriating and disgraceful" and could delay the end of the Covid lockdown.

DUP MP Gregory Campbell said earlier that he understood the desire to celebrate "but that doesn't justify breaking the public health rules".

"No one is more delighted than myself to see this success for the Gers. It's been a long road. But so has the battle against Covid," he said.

"It would be a bad day for Northern Ireland Rangers fans if a hallmark of 55 league titles was to be fans in ICU beds rather than being able to cheer their team on to more success.

"There will be plenty of time to celebrate in due course when the vaccine has been rolled out."