Have the Council Really Insisted the GB Sit Down?

Dear Mr Pearson

Request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

Thank you for your email received on 30 December 2010 requesting that the following information be provided to you:

“Can you let me know if any football stadium or football club in Glasgow has been contacted by you within the past twelve months regarding concerns about fans standing during matches?”

The Council is treating your request as a request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

For the purposes of clarity, Glasgow City Council is a member of the Safety Team which addresses safety in sports grounds. The Safety Team comprises partners from the Council’s Building Control & Public Safety and Licensing sections as well as Strathclyde Police, Strathclyde Fire & Rescue and the Scottish Ambulance Service and is there to provide advice and guidance to a club’s safety management team on accommodating spectators safely within their stadium.

I can advise you that Celtic Football Club has been contacted by the Safety Team in relation to public safety concerns with regards to spectators persistently standing at football matches at Celtic Park. This followed a complaint from a spectator at Celtic Park to Glasgow City Council, who subsequently raised concerns within the police who brought attention to the Safety Team.

The Council accordingly feels that it has complied in full with your request. However, if you feel that this is not the case please contact me at the number above.

Yours sincerely

Ayshea Brown

Team Manager

So there you have it. The council have been in touch with the club in relation to public safety concerns. These concerns relate to spectators standing at football matches at Celtic Park and, bizarrely, the issue arose because of a complaint from a spectator at Celtic Park.

I am as willing to think the worst about the PLC as the next Celtic fan but in this case I think it’s important that we appreciate that this is not a smoke screen or a fake threat from the PLC. In this case they are acting as they have been instructed.

The obvious question that arose from is just who was the spectator that complained? Was it a Celtic fan? If so why? More questions than answers.