Thousands of Rangers fans took to the streets this weekend to celebrate their first Scottish Premiership title in ten years, breaking lockdown rules in the process.
Rangers wrapped up the title without even having to play, after rivals Celtic drew 0-0 away to Dundee United on Sunday. The Gers’ 3-0 win over St Mirren on Saturday ended up being their decisive victory.
Fans congregated outside of Ibrox and the club’s Murray Park training centre, as well as in George Square, Glasgow.
Eyewitnesses reported incidences of vandalism, sectarian abuse and public indecency.
Whilst some fans wore face masks and observed social distancing rules, the vast majority who gathered did not.
28 Rangers fans have been arrested to date, with a further seven receiving fines for Covid-19 rule breaches.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Everyone has made so many sacrifices in the past year and seeing a minority risk our progress is infuriating and disgraceful. It is deeply unfair to the entire country, and the police have a hard enough job already.”
The First Minister then pleaded with Rangers to ask their fans to go home.
A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “Despite the coronavirus regulations and the prohibition of gatherings, our officers were faced with a very difficult set of circumstances as many thousands of supporters gathered to celebrate across a number of different venues.
“Our priority was public safety, and this included reducing the risk of disorder, road safety and effective crowd management among the complexities of a vociferous crowd. This included established crowd control measures to prevent serious disorder in multiple areas and protect the public.
“An appropriate policing response was in place throughout the day and officers continually engaged and encouraged compliance with coronavirus regulations.”
Meanwhile, League One and League Two clubs returned to training
Players playing for clubs in Scottish League One and League Two returned to training over the weekend, after a return to play was announced last week.
Clubs such as Falkirk, Dumbarton, and Partick Thistle shared images of players on social media, and appeared to be delighted to be back.
League games are scheduled to begin on Saturday March 20th, with Scottish Cup games pencilled in for March 23rd.
Uncertainty still remains over the length of the season, with the SPFL yet to approve the 22-game season proposed by all 20 lower league clubs.
Formula One backmarkers reveal new liveries
Williams and Haas have revealed their new look 2021 cars for the upcoming Formula One season over the past few days.
Haas have embraced the new Russian investment in the team, with a red, white and blue car, with new sponsor UralKali achieving prominence in the new design.
Williams have opted for an unusual new look for their car, which featured light and dark blue ‘zebra’ stripes, and a nod to their past with accents of mustard yellow.
Both teams will be hoping their new liveries will help them go faster, given that they were the two slowest cars on the grid in 2020.
Team GB teenager eases to gold in 800m at Indoor Championships
Teenager Keely Hodgkinson won her second major title on Sunday, with an impressive performance in the indoor 800m.
The 19-year-old, from Wigan, led for the vast majority of the race, holding off experienced challenger Joanna Jozwik, to win in a time of just over two minutes.
Her previous gold came in the National Outdoor Championships last year.
Hodgkinson now looks to be one of Team GBs biggest gold medal hopefuls leading up to this summer’s Tokyo Olympics, and well into the future.
Featured Image Credit: BBC
4th Year Journalism Studies and Politics Student at Stirling University. Sports Editor. Bylines in Brig Newspaper and The Oban Times
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