Dawn arrests made after Celtic-Motherwell game

Two men have been arrested in the wake of fan violence on December 6 at a game between Celtic and Motherwell. Picture: PA

FANS allegedly involved in ugly scenes at Motherwell’s Fir Park stadium, where seats were ripped up and flares were thrown onto the pitch during a match against Celtic, were arrested by police in a series of dawn raids.

Two men, a Motherwell fan and a Celtic supporter, aged 16 and 23 respectively, were held by police in the wake of a police operation which plans to undertake similar action against 20 more fans.

Celtic fans let off smoke bombs, two of which were thrown onto the pitch, in a match between Motherwell and Celtic on December 6. Two-hundred seats were also ripped up by Celtic fans who were spotted next to a Green Brigade banner. Violence threatened to erupt after the game as rival fans were separated by police.

Superintendent Glen Bland said: “This is just phase one. It is an ongoing operation and it will continue over Christmas.

“We are looking at both camps and we will not tolerate this sort of criminal behaviour. The majority of fans are decent, hard-wrking people. We are looking at 20 people at the moment but we are still trying to identify others who were involved.”

Officers have already arrested five other fans connected to the incident earlier this month.

Celtic responded to the violence by suspending 128 supporters from games and cancelling 250 season tickets, effectively disbanding the Green Brigade in the process.