NICOLA Sturgeon has condemned “despicable” scenes outside Celtic Park after two police officers were injured.
Fans gathered outside the stadium calling for Hoops boss Neil Lennon to be sacked following the team's 2-0 defeat to Ross County in the Scottish League Cup.
Police Scotland said two of its officers were injured in dealing with the incident, although no arrests have been made.
The First Minister, who was at pains to stress that her response was not related to any football affiliation, was asked about the incident at the Scottish Government’s coronavirus briefing.
She said: “Every day I stand up here and say avoid crowded places. We have a limit on people coming together outside of six people from two households. So it stands to reason, any group of people that are gathering together in a crowd are putting themselves and others at risk.
“And whether it's football fans, rugby fans, any other kind of sports fans or just people in general, please don't do it, because right now in the middle of this pandemic it is a risky thing to do that puts you and other people at risk.”
Pressed further on the issue she condemned the actions which injured a police officers as “despicable”.
The FM stated: "I don't care if you're a Celtic fan, a Rangers fan, Ayr United fan, no fan of football at all, anybody who attacks police officers is doing wrong and that is pretty despicable, and I would say that across the board regardless of football or any other sporting affiliation."
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Fans began to gather outside Parkhead at around 4.30pm on Sunday, according to Superintendent Stevie Dolan of the Greater Glasgow division.
He said: "No arrests have been made, however two officers sustained minor injuries as a result of the actions of the gathered group.
"We strongly condemn these actions and remind fans that enforcement options remain at our disposal.
"The Scottish Government regulations are clear that protests are prohibited in areas under Level 4 restrictions and we would urge people to find alternative ways to protest to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
"Disorder of any sort will not be tolerated and appropriate action will be taken where any offences are identified."
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