SFA To Appoint Independent Commission To Review Final Violence

 

The Scottish Football Association has begun the process of appointing an independent commission to look into the fan violence which followed Saturday's Scottish Cup final. Thousands of Hibernian supporters flooded onto the pitch at the end of their 3-2 win and sources understand six Rangers players and staff were assaulted and injured.

A much smaller number of followers of the Ibrox club also went on the pitch and fights between rival fans broke out. Rangers published a statement on Sunday night criticising Hibernian, the SFA and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. They also called for an independent review and have now been granted their wish, with SFA chief executive Stewart Regan confirming moves have been made.

He said: “The Scottish FA has today initiated the process of appointing an Independent Commission to investigate the circumstances of Saturday's Scottish Cup Final disorder. A chairperson will be appointed in early course and the commission's remit will be to review all operational matters relating to the event hosting of the final. It will be convened to analyse the processes and protocols undertaken in the staging of the match and I would encourage all relevant stakeholders to contribute to it. In the interests of transparency, the commission's findings will also be published in full. In addition, the Scottish FA's Compliance Officer has also started the process of investigating potential rule breaches from a football regulatory perspective. It should be pointed out that as the cup final is now subject to a criminal investigation by Police Scotland, we will share all information gleaned so far with them. I have also instructed the compilation of a comprehensive report from all our internal group functions at Hampden Park to establish a full picture of the events of the weekend. The contents of this report will be made available to the commission”.