A charity football match between Scottish politicians and sports journalists has to be cut short after it ended in a punch up between the players, reports The Times.
The game, which took place on Sunday morning in Glasgow, first showed signs of trouble when Labour MSP John Park was sent of for a challenge on BBC football pundit Chick Young.
After half time the foul play continued, and the referee called an early end to the game after just 55 minutes when a Glasgow Labour councillor ran the length of the field and brought down a journalist.
Young branded the politicians ‘thugs’and said that their behaviour was a disgrace. He said: ‘It was really quite scandalous. I am still limping and I have stud marks on my leg. Their tackles were completely out of order. One guy playing at the back for them was a nutcase of the first order and their language to the ref was scandalous. They totally lost the plot.”
One politician tried to calm the situation post-match by going into the opposition dressing room was shown the door, and only one journalist showed up for the post-match lunch for the two sides.
Labour’s Ken Macintosh said: ‘Normally it’s our football that embarrasses, not our behaviour. But in this case, it wasn’t a terrific display. We’re looking for a chance to redeem ourselves in the near future.”
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
