Glasgow businesses hit out after 'disruption' by Celtic fans

We previously reported on Saturday, May 18, around 25,000 Celtic supporters gathered in the Merchant City to celebrate the club's third successive Scottish Premiership league win.

Due to the celebration, some businesses in the area have since revealed they had to close early - while some chose to stay closed all day, reports BBC News Scotland.

READ MORE: 'Unacceptable' damage fixed after Celtic fan party in Merchant City

READ MORE: Scale of Celtic Glasgow title party outlined in drone footage

On top of that, businesses have criticised football fans for causing 'damage and disruption'.

Speaking to BBC News Scotland, Carriages and Castles - which is a children's clothing shop in the Trongate - said they had a windowsill broken from fans standing on it to get a better view of the crowd.

The store, which normally would be open on a Saturday, stayed closed during the title party.

Fiona, who is the manager of the shop, said: "Customers can’t get in, it’s a children’s shop. You don’t want to bring children into that, they get scared.

“The club should be held responsible for the damage that’s done.

"Could they not do that at their club grounds, because they wouldn’t damage that.

“The previous year it was just fans urinating, but that was easily cleaned.

"Then you’re wondering whether or not you’re going to have missing fascias or worse, broken glass because we don’t have shutters, only at the main part."

The store manager believes fans should support their teams, however, they must not 'destroy' things.

During the celebrations, other shops in the area also had their windows vandalised with graffiti, meanwhile, bus stops and traffic lights were damaged.

READ MORE: Thousands of Celtic supporters descend on Glasgow title party

Heather More, owner of Rose and Grants coffee shop, believes Glasgow City Council should do more to prepare for events like Saturday's gathering.

She said: "I do think the council should offer some sort of area for people to celebrate that’s not in the Trongate where there’s businesses just trying to trade as normal.

"I understand (the council) don’t want to encourage people to celebrate but they know it's going to happen.

"The disruption in the Trongate is embarrassing for the city."

The coffee shop owner revealed she took the decision to close early on Saturday for the safety of her staff, but said it would have a big financial impact on the cafe.

Heather said: "It could potentially cost us thousands of pounds. Things are tight just now but to have to close the cafe on a Saturday, our busiest day, it’s quite sad."

She added: "I understand it's maybe once a year if Celtic win the league but it's not ideal, right now I’m sitting looking at a bus stop that’s been smashed up and needs repaired".

Disruption was also felt at the Purple Cat Cafe in the Trongate.

According to the venue, many of its cats were left scared amid the disturbance.

Shiloh MacDonald, the supervisor of the cafe, said: "Our cats stay in here 24 hours, they stay downstairs at night time but they come upstairs in the morning and while they were up we had Celtic fans banging on the windows.

"They’re used to loud noises being next to the Royal Infirmary but they’re not used to fireworks and flares going off.

"Many customers cancelled their visits because of the football fans.

"We had sessions to run with customers but it is quite disruptive to the session when people are just trying to have a nice relaxing day with the cats and a coffee and there’s a rowdy party going on outside."

READ MORE: Cops reveal arrests after Celtic Trongate celebration

The supervisor revealed after three years of gatherings in the area, the cafe has started putting measures in place to prevent disruption.

She said: "Usually we’ll shut early or give staff that live out of town the day off, so I was given the day off.

"There’s not much we can do as a business, we can’t just shut for the day.

"Along this street, people can’t get into their jobs, customers can’t get to shops and the whole city gets trashed."

The BBC reports green graffiti was spray-painted on the outside of the shop as well as stickers on the windows of the cafe.

Shiloh added: "We do get graffiti on normal days, but when it becomes Celtic and Rangers stuff it becomes a bit of an issue because people come to the door and say you need to get that removed.

"It takes away from the staff that we have inside and it’s a bit of a pain coming out to scrub the walls."

A Glasgow City Council spokesperson told the BBC that unofficial celebrations by both Celtic and Rangers fans had 'caused significant problems' in and around the city over recent years.

They said: “The council continues to believe that one way to reduce the negative impact of these events would be for clubs to offer supporters more opportunities to celebrate safely.

"The council, for its part, has always committed to looking at how it can support and facilitate any proposed plans."

He added that the local authority had "positive destinations" with both clubs to discuss organised celebrations.