Scottish FA president Mike Mulraney calls for banning orders after 'violent' Old Firm disorder in Glasgow

The president of the Scottish FA has told STV News that he wants more banning orders imposed on fans who cause violent disorder or unruly behaviour.

It comes following scenes of violence between Rangers and Celtic fans in Glasgow city centre on Sunday, ahead of the League Cup final between the clubs at Hampden.

Scottish FA president Mike Mulraney branded the actions of supporters as criminal and called for a stronger response from the Scottish Government.

Mulraney’s comments come after First Minister John Swinney condemned the behavior of supporters and said that while the police would take action, the two clubs had a responsibility to “take account of the behaviour of their fans”.

The SFA president said that football-related disorder was “a multifaceted problem that required a multifaceted answer” and said that his organisation would happily work in partnership with anyone to help resolve the problem.

Mulraney said that football’s governing body could continue to work on behaviour inside stadiums, including taking more action on pyrotechnics, but said that the scenes on the streets of Glasgow were “not the responsibility of the footballing authorities”.

He says it was essential that the justice system worked to ensure banning orders were imposed on individuals, saying they were an important step to address criminal behaviour and were not being used widely, despite the request of the football authorities.

“I think if it’s on the streets there is a responsibility for the police,” Mulraney told STV.

“[The football authorities] have got to work within the rules of our game and within what we’re allowed to do under the law of the land.

“When it’s inside our grounds we can have a meaningful impact on that. Where it becomes difficult, and we’ve got a little challenge at the moment, is that it would help if there were more of the banning orders that we are asking for took place.

“That would be a meaningful, positive step for the control of this problem.”

Describing the banning orders, which can be applied to any offence connected to a football match whether at the game, travelling to or from the stadium or within the timeframe surrounding a fixture, as one of the most important tools to tackle disorder, the SFA president said it was the on the courts and police to take action.

“The people doing this are criminals,” Mulraney said. “It’s a criminal act, and we need to take the opportunity we have to use those banning orders.

“We have the law of the land, administrative and criminal law for a reason. And we have a law that says you can apply for a banning order. We’re asking for these to take place and we need the courts, and the police to apply for banning orders and get these criminals off our streets and out of our stadiums.

“If they do so, that will be a huge step towards answering this problem.”

Justice secretary Angela Constance MSP said it was important that all of the authorities collectively tackled the issue and did not try to push blame or responsibility on each other.

“It’s imperative that the Scottish Government, the football clubs and football authorities along with Police Scotland, all continue to work together,” she told STV.

“We all have a role to play to ensure that those attending football matches, and indeed members of the public, continue to be safe at all times.

“The Scottish Government has been taking intensive work with our partners and will continue to do so.

“Our part in that is to examine whether or not the legislation around football banning orders needs to be revised or changed in any way. It’s imperative that we continue to work together with a united voice that we condemn all forms of violence, in a stadium or outside.

“It shouldn’t be about one authority trying to shift responsibility on to another. We all have a collective responsibility to act together and address matters and ideally prevent them occurring in the first place.”

The justice secretary said she would be having discussions with Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell ahead of the next Old Firm derby, which will take place at Ibrox Stadium on January 2 without Celtic fans in attendance.