Armed police for Celtic's Champions League clash against PSG

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celtic teamImage source, PA
Image caption,

Celtic face PSG in the Champions League Group B opener on Tuesday

Armed police will be on patrol for Celtic's clash against Paris St Germain as part of extra security measures for the match.

About 58,000 people are expected to attend the Champions League qualifier at Celtic Park on Tuesday.

Police Scotland have urged football fans to plan their journey in advance, with a number of road closures due to be in place.

Supporters have also been asked to ensure they get to the game early.

Match commander Supt Mark Hargreaves said: "We are well versed in policing these types of events. The overall policing plan will include additional security measures in and around the stadium, such as road closures.

"Please be patient as it might take a little more time than usual to get through the turnstiles.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

PSG are expected to bring an array of stars to Glasgow on Tuesday, including Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani

"Therefore, I would ask anyone who is attending to ensure they get there early - plan your travel in advance. As it is such a crucial fixture for both teams, no supporters from either side would want to miss the kick off.

"I would like to emphasise that the security measures, which includes the presence of armed officers, are not in response to any particular threat as there is no intelligence to suggest that - similar measures have been introduced across a number of stadiums and are being used at Ibrox and Hampden."

Security expert Andrew McQuillan told BBC Scotland that the additional security appeared to be a reaction to recent terrorist attacks.

"They're trying to normalise it as quickly as possible because obviously that's a key thing," he said. "You want to try and normalise it but also have the visible threat there to try and deter things.

"The reality is, with these types of attacks, which we've seen with Manchester as well, they're going for the softest target.

"If you have two events, one has armed police, one does not, the armed police one is less likely to be chosen as a target.

"So any event where there is armed police, the public should feel more reassured."