Police warn against Old Firm-related domestic violence

People committing domestic violence related to this weekend's Old Firm game will be "robustly" dealt with by the courts, police and prosecutors said.

The warning from Strathclyde Police and the Crown Office came after figures showed "a clear link" between the game and a rise in domestic abuse cases.

Anyone arrested will be brought before Glasgow's domestic abuse court.

The game between Rangers and Celtic is due to take place at Ibrox stadium on Sunday at 12:30.

Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland said: "Figures from the start of this year showed a clear link between Old Firm football matches and a rise in the number of domestic abuse cases reported to the procurator fiscal in Glasgow.

Zero tolerance

"Domestic abuse is never acceptable and I find it particularly disturbing to see a link with an Old Firm match but this is the trend we are now seeing.

"Football-related disorder and violence, whether inside the stadium, in the streets and pubs afterwards, or at home will not be tolerated."

Earlier this year, police said 48 reports of domestic abuse had been received on Monday 7 February - the day after Rangers and Celtic drew 2-2 at Ibrox.

This represented a 33% increase on the previous Monday's figure of 36.

On Monday 21 February, 70 reports of domestic abuse were received following Celtic's 3-0 victory over Rangers at Celtic Park.

This represented a 75% increase on the previous Monday's figure of 40.

Ch Supt Bob Hamilton, from Strathclyde Police, said: "Analysis has shown that following Old Firm fixtures the number of domestic abuse incidents that officers deal with can be three times what would normally be expected over a weekend. This is clearly unacceptable.

"To combat this, we have carried out a week of proactive warnings to those individuals who commit domestic abuse offences during these periods.

"Additional officers will be on duty to deal with any demand that arises post-match, but we would hope that people will heed the warnings that are given and that the number of victims decreases during this period."