Celtic PLC AGM 2026
Resolution Two – Review of Security Operations
This AGM instructs the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Celtic PLC to:
1. Undertake, in cooperation with elected representatives of the Celtic support, a full review of security operations at Celtic Park. The aim of such review to examine, among other things:
a. The training and management of security staff to assess their understanding of how best to ensure the safety and security of supporters
b. The training and management of security staff to assess the extent to which medical emergencies are responded to appropriately
c. Any systems intended to capture lessons from any incidents that do take place
d. The recruitment of senior staff inside the security department; the extent to which they understand their role and the extent to which they are able to work with other departments (chiefly supporter liaison) to ensure the safety of supporters and their respectful treatment
Supporting statement
Over the past season there has been an increase in concerns among organised supporter groups about the culture inside the security department. These concerns centre around the question of whether or not the priority set by the Head of Security and his staff is the safety and security of supporters. There is an increasing view that supporters are being treated by Celtic PLC staff as a problem to be managed rather than, at the very least, paying customers who deserve to be treated with respect.
The Fairhurst Review followed the containment and searching of Celtic supporters by Police Scotland on 16 March 2025 and recorded serious concerns around welfare, communication, proportionality and the treatment of supporters. Yet, after commissioning the review, Celtic failed to take a clear position on what had happened. At the subsequent meeting with Police Scotland and supporter representatives, the Club declined to say whether it considered the policing operation lawful or proportionate. Having sought evidence from its own supporters about their treatment, Celtic then failed to defend them when that evidence raised serious questions. That episode exemplifies the concern behind this resolution: Celtic's security structures appear more comfortable accommodating policing decisions than challenging them when supporters' interests require it.
That same approach is increasingly visible inside Celtic Park. Since last season, supporters in and around the rail-seating section have experienced additional ticket checks, barriers, fences and an increased police presence on the concourse. Celtic maintains that such measures are necessary for safety, while supporter groups have repeatedly warned that they can themselves create congestion, frustration and confrontation. Recent incidents around the section, some of which remain subject to legal proceedings, underline the need for these arrangements to be independently examined rather than prejudged. Stewards, many of whom are being asked to manage extremely difficult situations, must also receive the training, support and operational guidance required to do so safely and fairly.
More fundamentally, there have been repeated occasions when serious questions about supporter safety have not received the scrutiny they deserve. At Ibrox in March 2026, an independent review subsequently identified an overcrowded area and a real and foreseeable crushing risk. Supporters have also raised serious concerns about congestion and crowd management at matches last season at stadiums including Fir Park and Dens Park.
These incidents sit alongside concerns raised this season about the response to a medical emergency at Celtic Park, which has prompted serious questions among supporters about whether existing procedures are adequate when immediate assistance is required. Those concerns should be examined carefully, factually and with appropriate sensitivity, rather than left unresolved. The purpose of raising these issues is not to prejudge individual incidents, but to ask why an organisation so willing to investigate and sanction supporter conduct has not always shown the same determination to investigate occasions when supporters themselves may have been placed at serious risk.
These concerns have intensified since the appointment of Mark Hargreaves as Head of Safety, Security and Operations. Hargreaves joined Celtic following a long senior career in Police Scotland and, during COP26, served in a senior command structure in which Bernard Higgins was the senior Gold Commander. Supporters had previously mobilised against the proposed appointment of Higgins because they feared that a policing culture which had contributed to years of conflict between Police Scotland and football supporters would be imported directly into Celtic Park. Since Hargreaves' arrival, policing around the standing section has increased, additional barriers and ticket controls have been introduced, relations with organised supporters have deteriorated substantially and security measures have become an increasingly prominent feature of the Club's relationship with its own fans. This all feeds into the central concern: that Celtic has placed too much faith in a policing-led model of supporter management, and in doing so has created a security culture focused on surveillance, restriction and control rather than protection, engagement and trust.
Resolution One
Resolution Three