From joyous party to riot police: Where did it all go wrong on Rangers trophy day?

Old and young, parents with children, groups of teenagers – all were united in a sea of red, white and blue.

Police Scotland had appealed to Rangers supporters to avoid gathering in crowds on Saturday but those appeals went unheaded.

Once Edmiston Drive had filled with people, the streets around the stadium began to fill too, spilling out on to the roads and stopping traffic.

“We’ve missed so much over the past year,” said fan Jim Porteous, “Everyone just wants to be here to celebrate and see one another.

“I think everyone knows the police said we shouldn’t gather but this was to be expected.

“You couldn’t keep us in today.”

The jubilant crowd cheered, danced and sang as they waited for the match against Aberdeen to end.

Some were clearly well refreshed and as the afternoon went on, the scene became steadily messier.

Throngs of people coming from the Subway system and making their way closer to the stadium from surrounding streets.

Groups of men climbed up on portable cabins in the building site next to the grounds to grab a better view.

Smoke bombs in red, white and blue were let off as the crowd ­become increasingly animated.

Roads around Ibrox stadium became ever more blocked by people spilling off the pavements and celebrating in the roads, meaning traffic is at a standstill.

But plenty of drivers honked horns in support of the celebrating fans.

Among the younger fans were tots in buggies.

Mum Sharon Scott had brought her five-year-old and two-year-old sons to the South Side.

She said: “It feels totally safe to me and I wanted the boys to see the crowd and see the best of Rangers. I’ve been Rangers since my dad took me as a kid so I want that for my boys.

“We’re not going to stay long – just until the trophy is lifted and get a bit of the atmosphere and then we’ll head back.

“I don’t feel bad about coming out. We’ve followed the rules for a full year and other people have broken them.”

Rangers supporters began to head into town to gather at George Square to continue celebrating their side’s Scottish Premiership trophy win.

Outside the City Chambers the crowd was again a mixture of families and old and young fans.

But as the afternoon wore on into evening the families began to leave and the atmosphere ­became increasingly tense.

In the centre of the square a small group breached the metal fencing around the Sir Walter Scott column and climbed the scaffolding.

To boos from the crowd, the vandals began throwing glass bottled down at the people below.

Meanwhile, the streets around George Square became more and more crowded as Rangers fans joined the celebrations.

As the crowd swelled so too did reinforcements from Police Scotland.

Officers began to line each ­entrance of the square with paramedics and fire crews arriving as back up.

As the afternoon became evening, skirmishes began to break out and police started moving in to break up fights and remove people from the square.

Eventually police began to clear the streets and officers in riot gear pushed crowds out into surrounding streets.

Video footage showed fans lifting red and white plastic barriers and throwing them at officers, climbing up statues and evading police.

When George Square was finally cleared last night the city centre had been left covered in a carpet of broken glass and rubbish, a filthy mess left for council workers to clean up overnight.

From a jubilant start to the day, by Saturday night “Scotland’s shame” was trending on Twitter.

No doubt this week will be a time of reflection for fans as questions are asked of police and council bosses as to how these scenes were allowed to come to pass.