As plumes of smoke wafted around but not up and out of Hampden Park for the second time in two days, TV broadcasters and fans alike were left twiddling their thumbs.

As the minutes ticked by, five in the case of Rangers vs Motherwell and 15 for Celtic vs Aberdeen the day before, it might have crossed minds that leaving the Premier Sports moneymen unhappy with their expensively acquired rights could finally provoke some action on the pyrotechnic hot potato nobody in Scottish football seems keen to deal with.

Given we’ve not heard a peep since, that would have been fanciful. It is always unwise to count on movement where the SPFL are concerned given their sole purpose seems to be to remain in a perpetual bland stasis, frozen into a collective paralysis by competing interests.

Neil Doncaster, the CEO whose salary has now hit a remarkable £453k and doesn’t even work from Scotland, is a leader whose only obvious skill is survival, negotiating his own jaw-dropping pay rises and mumbling bland corporate jargon. Ever trying to keep his profile low, he appears unwilling to proactively tackle major issues, even something as obviously dangerous to the cherished paying public as pyro.

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As the ultra culture imported from Europe continues to grow thanks to a combination of social media glamorisation and powder-keg social conditions, there are now a few examples of horrible situations. Two are obvious to highlight given their seriousness. In February at Easter Road, a Celtic fan was filmed as his hair was set alight by sparks from pyro, a situation he was only just able to get under control before he was badly burned.

Two months later in April, Dundee fan Levi Rennie was hit on the temple by a lit flare thrown at McDiarmid Park. While it was traumatic and left a nasty burn, the 10 year-old was very fortunate not to lose his sight. While Dundee’s players and manager treated little Levi to an access-all-areas trip to the training ground in the aftermath, he was still so badly affected he was reportedly no longer keen to attend away games after the ordeal.

And no wonder when you read his mother’s testimony, every parent’s nightmare: “We think it then went into his hoodie and then he’s lifted his hood up and burned his cheek. He was hysterical, saying his face was burning. What has affected him the most is the smell – he could smell himself burning.”

Setting off pyro in grounds is illegal for a reason. Regardless of what those on social media often assert, it’s not safe. Proponents talk about ‘cold’ pyro used elsewhere but this is a position that doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. Yes, ‘cold’ pyrotechnics are less dangerous, but even these burn at 500 degrees and no sensible person suggests such products meet the high threshold for preserving safety in a football stadium where fans are often packed cheek by jowl.

Just over a year ago the SPFL let it be known there would be a summit on the issue after a particularly intense display by Rangers fans at Dundee provoked outrage. Nothing has been heard since, despite many further similar instances by other clubs, continuing the SPFL’s apparent turn-the-other-cheek approach.

They continue to hope for the best but when the inevitable tragedy happens, make no mistake, Doncaster and Co will have a case to answer for their lack of tangible action. There may be ideas and plans afoot behind the scenes but it’s been over a year, far too long to be brought to the public given the gravity of threat posed.

While maintaining the status quo and having a risk-free outlook to change painfully underserves our game, it’s at least understandable or justifiable when it comes to commercial contracts, league structures and the many facets of our game we debate passionately. The value of those are subjective but where the safety of supporters is concerned, that’s another matter. We know pyro is unsafe. We know it’s illegal. Someone has to act.

So what can be done? The perpetrators use masks to hide their identities. The only way of finding out who is wielding the flares or firing rockets is to wade in and make arrests. The police understandably baulk at this and point out that such actions would only serve to cause further disorder and place their officers in harms way. So the ball is volleyed back to the SPFL – who might point out pyro is illegal and therefore a police matter. Back it goes in a perpetual loop.

The one place that pyro is guaranteed is Hampden during semi-finals and finals – we see it time and again. How can Glasgow City Council justify the granting of a safety certificate to the stadium given the rampant criminality that’s happening on football’s watch? It’s a question our politicians should be asking.

While they haven’t acted collectively under the SPFL umbrella, the clubs have done some good work on this issue. Celtic, Rangers and Motherwell all have issues with pyro but each have taken a sometimes unpopular stand against it. Managers, chairmen, club statements, you name it – the point they are unwanted has been made. Sadly, the selfish few don’t give a monkey’s what their club says. It must be infuriating and could be enough to leave them to conclude this mess is unsolvable, except the solution is staring everyone in the face.

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UEFA recognise that pyro is extremely dangerous and must be dealt with. They have stepped up to tackle this head on with a series of measures to punish the clubs and fans who persist. Celtic received a final warning for flare antics in Dortmund in October. An edict stated that any further instances of pyro being used would lead to the complete lock-out of away supporters at Celtic’s next match.

Predictably, the strict approach with tangible punishment worked. There was no pyro in Bergamo as fans self-policed knowing there was something significant at stake.

In the interest of public safety the SPFL and SFA should adopt the same measure to tackle this epidemic. There can be no doubt this method will work. Punishment should be on crowds rather than about penalising clubs with fines or points deductions. While the SPFL is traditionally resistant to any form of strict liability, surely using it in this form to wipe out danger would have some backers. There has to be tangible pain for supporters if they refuse to heed warnings and listen to reason.

After all, there are no second chances when tragedy hits. Scottish football’s power brokers must act before it’s too late.