Two held in Old Firm ‘hate raids’

Police have raided the homes of people suspected of carrying out Old Firm hate campaigns.

The operation targets postings of religious and racial hate comments about Celtic manager Neil Lennon and Rangers striker El Hadji-Diouf.

It is understood the addresses were identified with the help of the Internet Service Providers Association.

An extra 1,000 officers will be out in Glasgow on Sunday for Celtic and Rangers last game of the season.

It has been reported that officers had “at least 50” targets connected to comments about various individuals, including Lennon and El Hadji-Diouf.

Lennon has endured sectarian threats against him throughout his career as a player and manager at Celtic and was the target of a parcel bomb campaign, which also saw devices sent to QC Paul McBride and MSP Trish Godman.

Speaking ahead Sunday’s game, Lennon said: “I’ve had this for 10 years but I don’t want to say you get used to it, because you never do.

“It’s been with me during my time as a player, my time as a coach and my time as a manager. But it is not going to deter me from doing what I want to do.”

Mr McBride, who has acted for Celtic Football Club, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the problem was being fuelled by websites encouraging people to commit acts of violence.

“The internet appears to be a driver for individuals to come together and spew their hatred and bile out,” he said.

“And I’m afraid it’s resulted in people dying. People are being stabbed in a sectarian way in Glasgow. As a person who works in the High Court as a QC every day of the week, I see the result of sectarian crime.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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