HUNDREDS of extra officers will flood Glasgow city centre this afternoon ahead of tonight's Old Firm game.
Extra police will be on duty at Celtic Park and in the city streets from 2pm as fans prepare for the final Rangers v Celtic game of the year, with just one point separating the teams at the top of the Scottish Premier League.
The fixture, which traditionally kicks off at 12.30pm on the advice of the police, will take place at 7.45pm, while many supporters continue to celebrate the festive season.
Politicians last night admitted the later fixture could cause concern and urged officers to come down hard on anyone who causes disorder.
However, Strathclyde Police said that, despite the scheduling, it would be "business as usual" in policing the match.
Chief Superintendent Bob Hamilton said: "It's a routine match and officer numbers will be similar to previous matches.
"The events room at the stadium will be conducting operations there, while operations around the city will begin from about 2pm and continue through until later in the night when I decide to bring them to an end.
"The timing of the match wasn't a matter for the police. We didn't decide when the match was to take place, we've just got to police it and get on with it. But there is a flip side to the game being later in the day in that we can control who comes into the match. If fans are drunk, they simply won't get in, so those attending the match will have to be in a fit state by the time they arrive at the stadium.
"On a normal Old Firm day, people leave the match at around 2pm and they go drinking, whereas this way people will drink prior to the match, but if they are deemed to be drunk they'll be refused entry."
A Labour party spokesman claimed that, even though the fixture allowed for additional drinking time before the match, only a small minority of fans would cause trouble.
He said: "The later kick-off will concern some but the vast majority of fans will behave well. If a small minority intend to misbehave then the police must be ready to deal with them swiftly."
Spectators at the match – the first since the new football disorder Bill was passed by the Scottish Government – will see a video clip prior to the kick-off, featuring all SPL clubs signing up to a Focus on Football campaign, to encourage the positive aspects of sport.
The clip will also feature Rangers captain David Weir and Celtic captain Scott Brown delivering anti-violence and disorder messages.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Football Association, which runs the campaign, said: "The Old Firm match is our flagship domestic fixture and one which will be shown across the world so it's important that we give the best spectacle possible."
Mr Hamilton added that officers will carry out random inspections of supporters buses to check for alcohol and will attempt to limit alcohol intake on public transport.
The police chief also claimed that measures had been put in place to help tackle any rise in domestic violence associated with the match. He said: "The issue for us is always domestic abuse and we try to address this by basically carrying out a whole week's work in preparation for the match."
However, Scottish Women's Aid claimed that the later kick-off was not likely to trigger an increase in domestic violence.
Anti-sectarian group Nil By Mouth added that the later fixture time should be examined, in terms of violence and disorder, over a 24-hour period.
The Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police, Stephen House, has previously called for Old Firm fixtures to take place on a Monday or Tuesday night to avoid violence.
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