An independent review of crowd disorder at the Old Firm Scottish Cup quarter-final at Ibrox in March has delivered a severe criticism of Rangers, Celtic, the Scottish FA, the SPFL, the police and the ultras groups on both sides. The 37-page report says the ugly scenes “came within a very small margin of becoming a violent mass confrontation” and concludes that football authorities must stop relying on modest sanctions that have failed to change behaviour.
Lead author Mark Blackbourne, a sports event consultant with experience of Uefa match delegation and stadium inspection, argues that fines are not working and that immediate crowd restrictions should be the first response to serious misconduct. Both clubs now face disciplinary charges, and the report says Scottish football is dealing with an “upward trajectory of recorded unacceptable conduct” across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons.
Blackbourne’s report, which arrived four months after the match, is described as a broad condemnation of how the game is being run and of how both clubs manage their ultras groups. It follows a cup tie Celtic won on penalties, after which a pitch invasion by hundreds of the more than 8,000 visiting supporters prompted an “immediate hostile” counter invasion by Rangers fans. The report says it was “a minor miracle that no-one suffered serious injury.”
The document also criticises the risk assessment and the response from police and stadium staff, and says there was no adequate plan for fans outside the ground. It points to serious failings before and during the match, along with a wider reluctance by clubs and authorities to use stronger powers against disorder.
What does the report say about the scale of the problem?
The report says the problem is not isolated and that the disorder at Ibrox was part of a wider trend. Blackbourne writes that the increase in incidents is visible across recent seasons and involves pyrotechnics, objects thrown, pitch incursions, anti-social behaviour and targeted intimidation of players and officials. He says these are not random events but evidence of a pattern that existing disciplinary measures are failing to reverse.
“Scottish football is dealing with an upward trajectory of recorded unacceptable conduct by fan groups and individuals,” he writes.
“The volume and variety of incidents across seasons 2024/25 and 2025/26 - pyrotechnics, objects thrown, pitch incursions, anti-social behaviour and targeted intimidation of players and officials - is not a statistical fluctuation. It is a trend.
“The disciplinary frameworks exist to reverse that trend. The evidence is that, in their current form, they are not doing so. The sanctions are too modest, too deferred and too inconsistently applied to alter the behaviour of the clubs, groups and individuals they are designed to deter.”
He says fines and suspended punishments are too weak to deter repeat misconduct. Instead, he argues, immediate restrictions on crowd numbers should be the starting point for serious incidents, with no warnings and no “slaps on the wrist”. The report says the Scottish FA and SPFL already have powers such as financial penalties, points deductions and expulsion, but have chosen not to use them forcefully enough.
What happened at Ibrox on the day?
The report gives a detailed account of the match and the disorder that followed Celtic’s penalty shootout win. It says the pitch invasion by Celtic fans was “wholly inexcusable”, while the Rangers response was described as “immediate hostile”, with many of those involved wearing face-coverings and carrying “poles and reinforced gloves”.
“It’s a minor miracle that no-one suffered serious injury.”
Police took four minutes and 28 seconds to establish control, a period the report says was one in which “life-threatening violence was possible”. The document also warns of the risk of crushing in the Broomloan Road area when Celtic fans without tickets forced their way through security.
Among the specific incidents recorded, a steward at one of the gates at Ibrox accepted payment to allow fans into the stadium during the game. He has since been arrested. A Celtic employee was hit in the face by a masked Rangers fan, and a Rangers player reported an episode of racial abuse. A 10-year-old boy in the Celtic end was struck in the face by a coin, while a Celtic supporters’ bus was attacked and a fan was left unconscious on the street.
The report also says the Rangers mascot, Broxi Bear, was criticised for provoking Celtic fans. It notes that the pre-match risk assessment concluded a pitch incursion was “unlikely”, which the review identifies as another sign of operational failure. “A number of interviewees used the word ‘complacency’,” it says.
How are police and stadium operations criticised?
Blackbourne’s report says police had no proper plan for supporters outside the stadium and that some officers now say they are “petrified” of working at this fixture. The review also criticises the time taken to regain control of the situation and says the response exposed dangerous gaps in planning and preparation.
The report is equally critical of wider operational arrangements at Ibrox, including security failings and the lack of robust safeguards against disorder. It says the risk of violence had been underestimated and that the situation was allowed to escalate in a way that should have been anticipated.
The review also says a zero-tolerance policy must be reinforced across Scottish football and that the Scottish FA should take a stronger lead. It says section closure, rather than ticket reduction, should be the standard first response for confirmed unacceptable conduct.
“Section closure, not ticket reduction, should be the standard first-response for confirmed unacceptable conduct.”
What does the report say about ultras groups?
The report spends considerable time on the role of ultras groups and is sharply critical of both Rangers and Celtic for failing to control them. It says the groups should be treated not as ordinary clusters of disorderly supporters, but as organised entities requiring a multi-agency intelligence-led response.
“Clubs have demonstrated a reluctance to confront this dynamic, in part because of the atmospheric value Ultra groups provide, and in part through fear of the consequences,” the report added.
“These groups exhibit internal hierarchy, coordinated planning, operational security awareness, and the use of intimidation in securing 'best position'.
“The implication for football authorities and Police Scotland is significant: these are not spontaneous groups of disorderly fans but organised entities that require an intelligence-led, multi-agency response.”
Blackbourne says the way these groups operate has the feel of organised crime gangs. He also argues that clubs have been unwilling to challenge them because they add atmosphere and because of concerns over the fallout if they are confronted directly.
Will football authorities act on the findings?
The report raises a fundamental question about whether the Scottish FA and SPFL are willing to use the powers already available to them. It says the issue is not the absence of disciplinary tools, but a reluctance to use them at the necessary level.
“Across interviewees, there was a consistent and strongly expressed view that the Scottish FA and SPFL have the disciplinary powers to act more severely than they have done but have chosen not to use them.
“The existing rulebook - which every club signs up to - provides for financial penalties, points deductions, and expulsion… The question is not whether the tools exist. It is whether there is the will to use them.”
The report suggests that unless there is real reform, the scenes seen at Ibrox in March and at Celtic Park on the final day of the season, along with similar incidents in previous seasons, are likely to continue. It leaves the football authorities under pressure to show they are prepared to act on the findings rather than let the conclusions pass without meaningful change.
If the report does not lead to sweeping reform, the review implies that supporters and officials may again face the kind of disorder that brought the game close to serious violence. The question now is whether those in power are listening.
Key Facts
- An independent 37-page review examined crowd disorder at the Old Firm Scottish Cup quarter-final at Ibrox in March.
- Lead author Mark Blackbourne said the scenes came “within a very small margin of becoming a violent mass confrontation”.
- Both Rangers and Celtic face disciplinary charges.
- The report says sanctions are too modest, too delayed and too inconsistent to change behaviour.
- Police took four minutes and 28 seconds to establish control after the unrest.
