SFA to investigate Rangers-Hibernian disorder

The Scottish Football Association (SFA) will set up an independent commission to investigate the incidents that followed Saturday’s Scottish Cup final.

Hibernian ended a 114-year wait to claim the trophy when captain David Gray headed home in second-half stoppage time, completing a 3-2 win over Rangers.

A mass pitch invasion followed the final whistle and Rangers claimed that players and staff were attacked by Hibs supporters.

In a statement, Rangers said it was “incomprehensible” that neither the SFA nor Hibs had condemned the actions of supporters, and an investigation will now take place.

A statement from SFA chief executive Stewart Regan read: “The Scottish FA has initiated the process of appointing an Independent Commission to investigate the circumstances of Saturday’s Scottish Cup Final disorder.

“A chairperson will be appointed in early course and the commission’s remit will be to review all operational matters relating to the event hosting of the final.

“It will be convened to analyse the processes and protocols undertaken in the staging of the match and I would encourage all relevant stakeholders to contribute to it.

“In the interests of transparency, the commission’s findings will also be published in full.

“In addition, the Scottish FA’s compliance officer has also started the process of investigating potential rule breaches from a football regulatory perspective.

“It should be pointed out that as the cup final is now subject to a criminal investigation by Police Scotland, we will share all information gleaned so far with them.

“I have also instructed the compilation of a comprehensive report from all our internal group functions at Hampden Park to establish a full picture of the events of the weekend. The contents of this report will be made available to the commission. 

“I am keen that the Scottish FA is proactive in the investigations with the police authorities and the Independent Commission.

“In the meantime, I would urge all parties involved in the ongoing situation to demonstrate calmness, clarity of thought and responsibility as we proceed towards a satisfactory conclusion.”