A Rangers fan has been jailed for 16 months and banned from football for eight years after the Old Firm disorder at Ibrox. Jordan Hadden was sentenced after the court heard he waved fellow supporters onto the pitch after the Scottish Cup quarter-final tie on 8 March and threw a bottle towards Celtic fans that narrowly missed a police officer.
Court action after the Ibrox disorder
The court heard Hadden crossed the pitch towards the Celtic fans and approached the police cordon on the 18-yard box. He was later arrested after CCTV identified him wearing a full black tracksuit, a black cap and a scarf around his neck.
Abbas Ali, the prosecutor, said Hadden “was seen to turn to the crowd and wave the Rangers fans and appeared to encourage them to enter the pitch by waving his arms repeatedly.” That account matched the sheriff’s view of the bottle throw itself.
Sheriff Lorraine Glancy KC said: “Had the officer not seen the bottle and took evasive action, he could have been struck on the head with it.” She also said: “I consider that a prison sentence is appropriate to deter others from behaving in this way and to reflect the public's disapproval for behaviour like this at football matches.”
Sentence and ban
The punishment is straightforward enough. Hadden was jailed for 16 months and handed an eight-year football ban, with the court treating the disorder as conduct that crossed the line from crowd trouble into criminal behaviour.
Rangers are second in the Premiership with 20 points from 9 matches and a goal difference of 6, but this case sits apart from what is happening on the pitch. The next concrete marker is the sentence itself, and Hadden now has an eight-year ban to serve alongside the prison term.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
