Police warned that they will face "human and financial costs" if the home of Scottish football moves from Glasgow to Edinburgh, according to David Leask of the HERALD SCOTLAND. The body representing the rank and file of Scotland's national force flagged up what it calls "not inconsiderable policing implications" of switching major games from Hampden to Murrayfield. Concern from the Scottish Police Federation about the proposed move comes "amid private concerns among law enforcement about the prospect of regular Old Firm matches" in a capital unaccustomed to such events. The Scottish FA will make a decision on its future home by the end of this month. Law enforcement and some footballing "insiders" are "already highlighting the risks" of convoys of Rangers and Celtic supporters in cars with flags "racing along the M8 to and from crunch League Cup and Scottish Cup ties." There are also concerns about the "sheer manpower" that would be needed to marshal west cost fans by train between Glasgow and the capital and when they are in and around Murrayfield. SPF General Secretary Calum Steele said that policing a match involving one or more of the two big Glasgow clubs in Edinburgh "would take much longer than in Glasgow" (HERALD SCOTLAND, 8/18).
