Fan violence in football 'shrugged off', says police chief

Fan violence in football 'shrugged off', says police chief5 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GooglePA MediaCeltic fans stormed the pitch after beating Hearts on the last day of the season Fan violence in Scottish football is being "shrugged off" due to a lack of accountability from clubs and the game's authorities, Police Scotland's chief constable has said.Jo Farrell told the Scottish Police Authority board that clubs whose supporters cause trouble should face tougher sanctions, including reductions in the number of fans allowed to attend matches.She said punishments like cutting fan allocations would help solve the problem.Her comments came after disorder at several games towards the end of the season, including high-profile matches between Celtic and Rangers in the Scottish Cup and the Premiership title decider between Celtic and Hearts. More stories from Glasgow & West ScotlandMore stories from ScotlandA total of 47 arrests have been made in relation to those two matches, which both featured pitch invasions.Police Scotland told the BBC they have not received any complaints from Hearts over alleged assaults on their players after the Celtic match.Two police officers were injured in Glasgow city centre after Celtic beat Hearts 3-1 to dramatically win the league title on the last day of the season, as fans of the Parkhead side gathered in the Trongate area to celebrate their triumph.Farrell said trouble connected to football was escalating in the country and it was becoming a "significant public safety issue" that affected communities and businesses.She said: "Policing has a strong part to play in football, but there is no doubt that accountability and ownership is lacking around football in Scotland."Disorder, violence and thuggery is unchecked and is allowed to be shrugged off."I think there is an absolute necessity for the two football authorities - the SFA and the SPFL - to strengthen their regulat...