SFA chief warns of stadium closures amid rising fan disorder

Football matches in Scotland could be played behind closed doors if supporter behaviour doesn’t improve, according to Scottish Football Association CEO Ian Maxwell.

Speaking to STV News on Thursday, Maxwell said he was “disgusted” by the scenes that marred the end of March’s Old Firm Scottish Cup quarter-final and Celtic’s Premiership victory over Hearts on the final day of the season.

His comments came on the same day that chief constable Jo Farrell said Scottish football cannot have “another season of this mayhem”. She also claimed that when concerns about violent fans are raised, they’re “shrugged off” by football’s governing bodies.

Unlike other parts of the UK, pitch invasions are not illegal in Scotland. There have been calls for legislation to change that, along with immediate action such as banning orders.

But the SFA say they’re now prepared to take additional measures.

Maxwell told STV News: “If (stadium closures or partial stadium closures) is what it’s going to take to stop that kind of behaviour, then that’s what we would impose,” Maxwell said. “The football authorities need to work in conjunction with the clubs because everybody wants it to stop.

“We’re at the point where that intent (to take action) has to be there. There’s no doubt given the level of pitch incursions that we’ve seen in the last few months of the season, we can’t think that’s acceptable in any way, shape or form.

“It’s obviously not being stopped by the rules that we’ve got, so that then takes you down the road of ‘we need to review those rules and implement new and approved regulations and sanctions that deter individuals from coming onto the pitch’.

“We would support all of those things, but it’s not a one-stop fix. We have to do as much as we can as football, we need to look at the rules and regulations we have got in place, are they appropriate, and what sanctions can we introduce to make people not want to go on the pitch.

“I can understand when one or two come on, and everybody else follows suit, but that can’t be acceptable given the numbers we are seeing, and given the difference in levels of football we are seeing them at.

“We had an amateur cup final here that had a pitch incursion and we saw them at Inverness, Hamilton, it’s becoming more prevalent across all levels of football and it’s something we need to stamp out.

Dozens of people have been arrested after encroaching onto the pitch when Celtic knocked Rangers out of the Scottish Cup on penalties at Ibrox on March 8.

A ten-year-old child was also struck by a coin as items, including pyrotechnics, were thrown by supporters.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Celtic fans streamed onto the pitch at Parkhead on the final day of the season while the game was still being played, with thousands of supporters later descending on the Trongate area of Glasgow.

More than 900 police officers were called in to deal with the unrest, with two sustaining serious injuries.

In terms of punishments that the authorities may consider, Maxwell says it needs to be something that impacts supporters.

He added: “When you look at UEFA and the way they have dealt with pyrotechnics as an example, they will take action that impacts on the supporters themselves.

“I think sanctioning clubs is one thing, but that has limited impact in terms of the individuals who want to come onto the pitch, because they don’t feel that sanction in any way, shape or form.

“It’s something that we have to look at in terms of how do we influence the individuals to make sure they don’t want to come on because they know the impact it’s going to have on them.”

“The inevitable escalation that’s going to come is that at some point something is going to turn really sinister and we’re all going to have to look in the mirror and ask ourselves ‘did we do enough.'”

Maxwell also said it was “disgusting” that referee John Beaton had to be put under police protection after his personal details were leaked online following a contentious penalty award to Celtic in the penultimate round of fixtures.

“It’s disgusting. When you need to spend time on the phone speaking to the police to organise protection for anyone under your control, that is unacceptable. Everybody needs to step back and understand that we can’t have that as a society.”