Callum McGregor took fan fireworks fears direct to Celtic chiefs after Rangers clash
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
IAN MAXWELL thinks that footballers in Scotland can help the football association in cracking down on fan behaviour issues.
This comes as the chief joined the BBC Sportsound team on Saturday afternoon to address Scottish footballing issues.
2
Celtic fan with homemade rocket launcher at the 2022/23 Viaplay cup final
2
Ian Maxwell revealed that Callum McGregor, pictured here with Celtic chief Michael Nicholson, had spoken direct to the Celtic board over the matter
Credit: SNS
On the show, Maxwell said: "Rangers played Celtic at Hampden [in 2023] and there was a lot of fireworks.
'There was a video online and a guy had a rocket. They are finding ingenious ways to get these things into grounds.
'I spoke to the Celtic board after it and one of them said Callum McGregor had gone to them and said that was the first time the players had actually talked about something coming onto the pitch.
'At that point you go; 'I think we need to use the players'.
'The players are a fundamental part of trying to impact on that behaviour because with the best will in the world myself or Neil Doncaster or someone else saying 'go and not do that' just makes people want to do it.
'But if players are going to supporters and saying 'you are affecting our performance, you are getting in our heads, I'm worried when I'm taking a corner' then that is a positive message.
'The more we can use that player platform to spread that message and make people aware of the danger then the better.
'It's a player's place of work and it's not right they are taking a corner and there's all sorts raining down beside them.'
There has been multiple fan incident's across the season.
Most include pyrotechnic use, but we also saw Aberdeen defender Jack MacKenzie struck in the head by a chair from his own fans on the last day of the season.
Shock moment Aberdeen star hit with seat thrown from own fans after rivals' pitch invasion
Ticket reductions, and the threat of such action, is the route the governing body is taking to try and clamp down on these fan issues.
Maxwell added: 'The ticket reduction is the next step. It's a fundamental step.
'We will see how that goes. Hopefully that has the impact.
"If it doesn't and we need to look at something else, we will see what the options are at that point.'
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
37 minutes ago
- The National
Scotland's quickest-ever woman is back and ready to run fast
She was in constant, excruciating pain and even lying in bed was unbearably sore. It was quite a contrast for the Scot who, just a few years earlier, had established herself as the fastest Scottish woman in history and was, it seemed, on her way to becoming a truly world class sprinter. But just as she was peaking, the worst of luck struck Rees. In the summer of 2023, only a few months after setting a new Scottish indoor 60m record (she was already Scottish 100m record holder), Rees tore her hamstring. In itself, this would be a serious enough setback but more bad fortune was to follow, with Rees being diagnosed with arthritis in her pelvis which, it turned out, was the source of her crippling pain. Given her physical issues, it's perhaps no surprise that the Edinburgh AC athlete began to accept that her career as an elite runner may have been halted just as she was hitting her peak. 'This time last year, I really wasn't sure if I would ever compete again because I couldn't even walk without pain,' the 26-year-old says. 'I would go to the track to do rehab and watch people running and I just couldn't ever imagine that being me again. 'It was a really tough time because I was still turning up to training, but I didn't feel like I was in the sport anymore.' Rees admits that the prospect of hanging up her spikes for good was a 'constant thought' but it was watching the Paris Olympics last summer that persuaded her to give athletics one more shot. 'Last year, I became a 'normal person', not an athlete and I had a good time but when the Olympics was on television I thought, yes, I've had a fun summer but I want to give it another go because I still had a real drive to compete at major championships,' she says. 'Giving up would have been the easy option, and I think me a few years ago would have quit but I didn't want to reach the end of my career and feel like I hadn't given it everything.' A change of medication kick-started a recovery that saw Rees tentatively return to training and turn of the year went encouragingly smoothly, to the point that she felt able to dip her toe back into the world of competitive sprinting. Alisha Rees is Scottish women's 100m record holder (Image: Alex Livesey/ Getty Images) In the past two months, Rees has raced six times and while she's not producing the sort of times she was at her very best - her fastest time this season is 11.78 seconds in comparison to her Scottish record of 11.30 seconds - when she takes a step back she's able to appreciate the distance she's travelled since this time last year. 'It's strange being back competing, because you forget what it's like. Before my first race back, I couldn't sleep the night before because I was so nervous,' she says. 'But it's so good to be back. I know it will take time to get close to where I was before, but it's very hard to be patient. 'I've got faster nearly every time I've raced, though, and I do believe that by the end of the season, I'll be in a position where I'm happy with how I'm running.' There will, Rees hopes, be further improvement in her performance within the coming weeks, which will lay the foundations for a strong performance at the British Championships in August, which is where her injury issues began two years ago. She is, however, reluctant to set too many long-term goals - her injury issues make it impossible to know just how her body will cope with the stresses and strains of elite-level sprinting - and so her focus remains on appreciating her health and fitness and any success on the track will be a welcome, and well-deserved, bonus. 'I'm enjoying the sport again, which is so nice because last year it was a very unenjoyable time,' she says. 'I'm happy to be turning up at training and able to do the sessions, so I'm feeling good. 'There's the Commonwealth Games next year but this time, I'm in a very different position from where I was a year out from the 2022 Commonwealth Games. 'Obviously, I would love to target an individual spot in the team next year, but at the moment it's hard to know if that's realistic or not because I've still not raced much. 'There's also the chance to go for a relay spot, which would be amazing too, because a home Games will obviously be amazing. 'The goal for this year was to get back racing and I've already hit that target so it'll be nice to see where I can go from here.'
Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
If Greg Taylor leaves Celtic for PAOK he can expect broken windows, riot police and tear gas
Mark Kerr is one of only a handful of Scots to play in Greece and while it's not for the faint hearted, he couldn't get enough Seething supporters trying to storm the inner sanctum of the stadium.. crazy ultras panning in the windows.. riot police filling the night sky with tear gas. Mark Kerr saw all sorts of chaos during his two seasons playing in the Greek Super League. And he LOVED it. The former Aberdeen, Falkirk and Dundee United midfielder is one of just a handful of Scots to have plied their trade in the country originally known as Hellas. But now it looks like Greg Taylor is set to add his name to the list with a move to PAOK edging closer after six seasons at Celtic. And while Kerr admits surprise that anyone could leave Paradise when there's a new contract on the table, he reckons a stint in the league that can made the Old Firm derby look tame is no bad substitute. Kerr spent 18 months with Asteris Tripolis after leaving Aberdeen in 2010. He fell in love with the place, the peaceful Mediterranean culture.. and the madness of it's football. Kerr said: 'I really enjoyed my time in Greece, absolutely loved it. 'The football is a really high standard. Olympiacos have obviously won a European trophy recently, AEK Athens and Panathinaikos have done well and PAOK are always up there challenging. 'The quality, it's really quite a tactical game, a bit slower. I think Greg would be brilliant over there, to be honest. 'Just the way he plays, he's good in the ball. There's some really good players in that league. 'It is a bit of a culture shock at first, the stadiums and atmospheres. PAOK is one of the older style stadiums with an open roof. One of those tunnels you go down then up stairs onto the pitch. 'It was really impressive. The fans are amazing. Passionate beyond belief. 'I remember we drew 2-2 with AEK. We were 2-0 up in the Olympic Stadium - they were sharing with Olympiacos at the time - with about five minutes ago. 'Their fans were going absolutely mental. They were trying to get on the pitch because their team was losing. 'Then we beat Panathinaikos 1-0 at home. That was probably the craziest one. 'The away fans were putting in the windows afterwards. There's armed police at all the games and there was tear gas going off everywhere. 'We were inside the stadium and they were trying to get in through the doors, putting in the windows. 'Obviously you don't expect that coming from Scottish football. I loved that though, honestly. It's a good experience. 'It's not as if you're face-to-face with them. There's riot cops there. 'Some of the directors storm on to the pitch after games too. Like the Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis did last month. That's just normal to them. 'We used to get the bosses coming down the next day and shouting in our face and the manager's face. 'They'd be offering big bonuses. But if we didn't win… "They don't give a sh*t. It's their club. I had five different managers in those two seasons.' Away from the wild scenes on the sidelines there was quality on the park. And the sunshine lifestyle was something Kerr could never have imagined in a career otherwise spent in Aberdeen, Dundee, Falkirk and Ayr. Should Taylor finalise his move to Thessaloniki then he can expect sun, blue sea and golden sand. But Kerr admits, if it was his choice, he'd still choose the east end of Glasgow's version of Paradise. Could Greece make Taylor a better player? The former Ayr United boss, who left Kelty Hearts with Charlie Mulgrew earlier this season, said: 'That's a hard one for me to answer. I know Kieran Tierney's coming back and it's maybe about game time, but I'd never be leaving Celtic! 'There's obviously things in the background that you don't know about. I just don't know how you get better than playing for Celtic and in the Champions League. 'He's got a decision to make for his family, obviously. He's been brilliant for Celtic, absolutely brilliant. 'I think he'd be a massive part of next season. If he does go to Greece though, he will love it, I'm sure. 'The country's brilliant. The lifestyle's great. I was treated really well there. 'You travel quite a bit. They fly to the islands so it's a good experience. 'And Thessaloniki is a really nice place. I was there when Aris and PAOK were both in the league so we were there a good few times. 'We stayed over for two days. We'd fly on a Friday, play late on Saturday night then either fly home that night or fly home on Sunday. You got a chance to see places. 'I moved to a wee place called Nafplio in my second season, an amazing wee place just on the sea, I'd just go back after training and chill out with the family. It was brilliant. 'It's a great league too. The boys I played with, like Anastasios Bakasetas and Kostas Fortounis, went on to become captains for Greece. 'The heat isn't even a problem as you don't train or play in it. We used to be in the training ground for half six in the morning. 'Asteris was probably the most high-tech club of my career. You'd be in early and get your bloods done. You'd be getting all your tablets and stuff based on your body. 'On a normal day, you'd be in at half seven, train at half eight. Then you'd be done for ten o'clock, eleven o'clock. 'That would be you. All the games over there are pretty much eight o'clock kick-offs. Then obviously the winter months you'll get your afternoon games. Maybe a four o'clock kick-off, three o'clock kick-off. 'Honestly, I loved it and I'm sure Greg would too.'
Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
I see cracks in Celtic with transfer fears over four starters so maybe this Rangers claim is a myth –Hugh Keevins
I have a friend who sits in the rear section of the Copland Road stand at Ibrox. The view he got from there in the season now ended – once he got his seat back after the temporary residency at Hampden caused by a building plan malfunction – was distorted by disaster on the park. None greater than the Scottish Cup humiliation at the hands of Queen's Park. That day Rangers recorded what was arguably the worst result in the club's history by losing to the only goal of the game against the Championship side. That embarrassing elimination was among a series of home truths delivered about the state of the team under Philippe Clement's management, eventually resulting in the Belgian's inevitable dismissal. Random disappointments followed while my season-ticket holding friend's team was under the temporary charge of Barry Ferguson. Losing at home to what might be described as lesser opposition continued to be a destructive problem for Rangers in the Premiership. But hope springs eternal in football, so when it came time to renew his season ticket, or reject the offer, my friend didn't buy one. He bought two of them. Even though the cost had gone up from £500 a pop to £600. Hard-working guy. His disposable income. None of my business. But only in football can a club inflict such misery on their paying customers – then charge them even more than before to come back, on the basis that things might be better in the season that follows. There was a 17-point gap between Rangers and their greatest rivals, Celtic, on the final day of the league season. It suggests the presence of a gap which will take some time to fill in. But, in reality, is that actually the case? The way Celtic lost the Scottish Cup Final to Aberdeen in May suggested to me that cracks have started to appear in Brendan Rodgers' squad,. The manager's activity on the transfer front since then has not fully addressed the problem. Only time will tell if the addition of Kieran Tierney on a free transfer from Arsenal – and the awaited loss of Greg Taylor, now out of contract at Celtic Park – will ultimately enhance or reduce the quality of Rodgers' squad. Ross Doohan might have been first pick for Scotland against Liechtenstein on Monday afternoon but he'll be third choice if the keeper completes his move from Pittodrie to the league champions. And Fulham youngster Callum Osmand comes into the category of one for the future and not one from the off once the training compensation fee has been paid for him. The fixture list for the new season will be out on Friday morning. Then, if you listen carefully, you'll be able to hear the sound of Celtic fans impatiently drumming their fingers while waiting for the bank to be broken on some summer signings. Taylor is, presumably, on the move. Meanwhile, Jota is sadly lost to the game for the foreseeable future due to injury. And there arequestion marks against the names of players such as Auston Trusty, Nicolas Kuhn, Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate where their short-term future is concerned. All of this comes before we get round to what becomes of the enigmas Adam Idah and Paulo Bernardo as well. Rangers won more points than Celtic in the four Old Firm derbies last season. There was a time when that fact alone would have guaranteed them a league title win. And those days could return if the newly-upholstered Rangers, financed by the recently-installed 49ers Enterprises, give Russell Martin the kind of financial backing he's going to need to tip the balance of power in Glasgow. If they do, and the manager still fails to remove Celtic from their perch at the top of the table, then he'll be out the door quicker than you can say 'unfit for purpose'. But these are the days when everyone, on both sides of the divide, gets the benefit of the doubt. A state of affairs which traditionally lasts until game one of the new season is played. After that, you're on your own. And those Celtic and Rangers supporters now paying a significantly higher rate for their season books will reserve the right to exercise an upgraded degree of scrutiny where their team is concerned.
