COUNCIL and police chiefs have failed to agree a plan to house an Old Firm title party leaving residents and businesses in Scotland’s biggest city fearing wrecked streets.

Officials met with MSPs and both clubs but couldn’t come up with a deal for a structured venue to avoid the scenes in recent years where fans have been left to party in Glasgow city centre.

The council admitted they’ve only just finished paying the £73,000 bill for last year’s damage at the Trongate.

But now businesses are bracing themselves for more mess on May 17 if Celtic win the Scottish Premiership and lift the trophy when the Premiership concludes.

Despite the meeting, it appears a solution to the issue is still far off and another celebration could go ahead.

The celebrations over the past four years have seen Celtic fans descend on the Trongate in 2022, 2023 and 2024.  While Rangers supporters partied in George Square after their 2021 win.

Council cleaning crews have then been forced to sweep up the hordes of litter, beer cans and broken bottles left behind by boozy mobs.

Last years Hoops celebrations in the Merchant City saw fans clambering onto bus shelters, traffic lights and street signs.

Cops arrested 19 people at last year’s party and four officers were injured.

Local residents and businesses who had their daily lives put on hold by the impromptu bashes have pleaded with officials to put an organised celebration in place elsewhere in the city.

Business owner Louise Wilson, 37, has had bad experiences with the celebrations and wants them moved out of the area.

She said: “We have to close the business because I just don’t feel my staff will be safe.

“I was on holiday the first year it happened and I was sent a bunch of frantic videos from the people working, I just told them to close the shop and go home.

“I had an argument with a policeman one year because he was lining bottles along my shopfront, I went out and moved them and told him if a fight breaks out then you’re basically giving them a load of missiles to throw.

“And when it’s over the street is an absolute disgrace.  The traffic lights and bus stops are all smashed up.

“The community police came around last year and said their advice is to close.  So I am going to lose around £1,000 in revenue that day.  My staff will have to take holidays they don’t want and clients have their appointments cancelled.

“It felt like a fight could kick off at any second.”

“The council, police and clubs have had a year to get something sorted as they know this is going to happen.

“I’m not against fans celebrating but why can’t they do it down at the park or the stadium and they aren’t shutting down the city centre.  What if an ambulance or a fire engine needs to come down here.

“They’ve been allowed to run riot in the streets and the police don’t do anything.

“It didn’t feel like a party, it didn’t feel like a celebration, it felt like a fight could kick off at any second.”

Celebrations need ‘structure’

Chippy owner Enrico Calvi runs the Val D’oro fish and chip restaurant which has been serving Glaswegians since 1938.

He told how he wants to see the fans celebrate their team’s success in true Glasgow spirit but the powers that be need to get around the table and organise something proper.

He said: “I personally don’t think it got out of hand. I think it just needs to be better organised really. Out of hand, no, because we were fine.

“We were right in the epicentre of it, so we were fine. What needs to happen is you need to provide structure, toilet facilities, a bit of entertainment, the stadium Celtic Park is ideal or Glasgow Green.

“Even here (in the Trongate) could work if the structure that brought toilets, put a band here in the middle policed it better.

“They don’t want to sanction it as an event which is silly because they know it happens every year, whether it’s Rangers or whether it’s Celtic.

“I personally don’t think it got out of hand. I think it just needs to be better organised.”

“So if it happens to be Celtic this year, they make an event out of it, put some nice bands on at Glasgow Green, certainly they could make donations, a little ticket at a bit, you know like a pound or something nominal to throw a pound in towards the cost of toilets.

“Toilets is one of the biggest issues because a lot of kids that come down for this event, they’re not catering for them. plus the policing’s got to be a bit more friendly, a bit more organised, say the do’s and the don’ts.

“You know, you can’t climb up to the top of the toll booth and dive bomb off, or you can’t climb up here because there’s a 45 foot drop onto the railway, things like that.

“They spent a lot of money shuttering off the Mercat Cross here and then they still went up and ripped it off because it’s not been policed.

“So if they can have the rules properly laid out even they can put a hand round somebody’s shoulder and say to them ‘look, you can’t go here but you can do this.’ Be more sensible.”

And he said his family chippy will be staying open if similar celebrations go ahead, saying not even German bombs stopped them from opening up shop.

He added: “Because of the volume of people wanting to use the toilet, we closed the main shutter and we opened the window service area, which took a bit of pressure of people coming into the shop.

“But if you had toilets, the proper amount of toilets available, it wouldn’t be as you could keep the shop open.

“We never shut when the bombs were dropping in Glasgow Green, when the Luftwaffe came to Scotland the Val D’oro was still open!”

‘Advised to close’

Riccardo Borghi, 45, only recently opened the Caffè Bellasina in the Trongate and has yet to experience a fan party in the city centre but already agrees the celebrations should be taken elsewhere.

He told how neighbouring businesses have advised him not to open on the day.

He said: “I will stay closed because I got advice to stay closed due to be a very crowded area. It will be very crowded and there’s not going to be many people around coming in for coffees and stuff.

“I’m all for celebrating, especially football. But maybe not in a central location such as this one, because there are lots of shops, lots of houses as well. So, probably it’s not very good for the neighbourhood in general.”

But one business owner, who did not want to be named, expressed real fears for safety and criticised local police for their handling of the disorder.

They said: “We keep the door locked when it happens but you just see all the fans fighting amongst themselves, and there are no police.

“They close off the area and stand around while it happens but they only come in if they see something happening.

“We keep the door locked when it happens but you just see all the fans fighting amongst themselves.”

“But people are drunk and you don;t know what someone has on them.  Someone could throw something or pick up a bottle, smash it and decide to use it on someone.”

And they said hygiene is a major issue for locals, adding: “The pavements were sticky for days.  The council do their best to clean it all up but you can still tell.

“One year when it was really warm people were peeing in the streets and the smell was everywhere.”

Council’s plea

It comes as Glasgow City Council pleaded with supporters not to take part in the mass celebrations which had trashed the city centre.

A spokesman said: “Glasgow is a great sporting city – and fans should have the opportunity to celebrate success.

“However, there can be absolutely no justification for celebrations that lead to the kind of disorder, vandalism and violence that has been a persistent feature of gatherings at Trongate and George Square at the conclusion of recent football seasons.

“We have heard and we share the frustrations of local businesses and people living in these neighbourhoods.

“The council has made it clear during its engagement with clubs and stakeholders that it would be in the best interests of the city, its sporting institutions and above all local communities for all parties to use whatever influence they have to encourage fans not to gather in that manner.

“At the same time, the council has always been clear that it will support any efforts made by clubs to organise or host sustainable and safe celebrations for supporters. We have been engaging on this subject, consistently, over recent years – and we will continue to do so right up to the end of this season.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We work closely with a range of partners to address concerns and ensure appropriate policing plans are in place to maintain public safety and minimise any disruption to the wider community.”

Merchant City and Trongate Community Council, which was involved in the talks, confirmed no agreement had been reached.

A spokesperson said: “Longer term, there are indications that a solution can be found but we have so far seen no evidence to suggest local residents and businesses will not witness next month the kind of disgraceful anti-social behaviour seen at the end of the past two league seasons.

“We appeal yet again for common sense and respect for people and property to prevail.”
ENDS