Scottish police are preparing to combat “pre-planned disorder” for Tuesday’s Scotland-England at Celtic Park after confirming they have received intelligence of potential trouble. The game hasbeen given the highest possible UEFA security rating and the chief superintendent, Andy Bates, says major steps are being taken to avoid a repeat of what happened when Scotland hostedEngland at Hampden Park in 1999: 230 arrests following clashes in the stadium and the city center.
“We’ve intelligence to suggest there will be some pre-planned disorder,”Bates said. “We have to be on top of our game to be sure it doesn’t become a problem. We have intelligence that both sides will be involved in this. There will be an increase in thenumbers of officers deployed to this game. The whole purpose of this is to disrupt any hooligan activity. … We anticipate arrests, but not as many as in 1999.”
There was no crowdtrouble when the two teams meet at Wembley in August 2013 match despite the presence of 20,000 Scotland fans.