Twenty six arrested at secret football riot
Just 1,423 fans paid to watch the January 5 clash between Hamilton and Falkirk that resulted in a 1-1 draw with both sides stuck in mid table.
The match took place less than a fortnight after the so called Battle of Dens Park which went unrecorded at the time despite live coverage of the Dundee v Celtic match by ESPN.
Five people were charged by Tayside Police following that match but more than FIVE times that number have been arrested following the incidents that occurred on the day of the Hamilton v Falkirk match.
Strathclyde Police have been reviewing CCTV footage of the incidents with more arrests expected.
Detective Sergeant Neil McLeod said: “Football fans who think they can engage in this type of behaviour should think again.
“If we don’t get them on the day, we will get them at some point. We won’t let it go.
“We have found in the past that defence agents, on seeing the footage, have advised their clients to plead guilty.
“We are not relying on grainy CCTV images. The HD cameras can pick out faces 200 yards away.”
“There is still a worrying number of people who attend football and want to engage in disorder and peddle hatred.”
In the aftermath of the alleged trouble at Dens Park Dundee security chief Jim Thomson revealed: “There were so many drunk people outside that we just had to let them in. If we didn’t, there would have been a riot outside. It’s as simple as that.
“It was like a continental-style policing operation. In other words, they were in that stand so keep them there and if they want to fight among themselves then let them go ahead.”
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