Police have warned the thousands of fans travelling to today’s Dundee United v Aberdeen League Cup semi-final not to cause trouble.
British Transport Police (BTP) is also reminding fans of alcohol restrictions ahead of the clash.
Thousands of fans are expected to take public transport to the match at Hampden Park.
Chief Inspector David Gray, who is leading the BTP operation for this weekend’s semi-finals at Hampden, said: “British Transport Police is well-used to transporting large numbers of spectators to football and other sporting events from all over the country every week and these matches will be policed in the same way.
“Officers have been planning in partnership with Police Scotland colleagues and train operator ScotRail to ensure the thousands of supporters, from as far north as Aberdeen, can reach Hampden safely and securely.”The Courier website will have live updates from our sports team at Hampden from around 2pmChief Inspector Gray added that it would be a shame if fans let alcohol cloud their enjoyment of what should be a “great” encounter.
He said: “Supporters of all teams should be aware that there are alcohol restrictions in place on many train services during Saturday and Sunday.
“These will be enforced by BTP to ensure all passengers can travel without encountering any sort of anti-social behaviour.
“It’s really not worth risking not seeing what promises to be a great match just because you may have drank too much, and everyone is urged to respect the other passengers on the train who may not be travelling to or from Glasgow to see a match.”
Officers from Police Scotland have also met players from both sides to ensure that their conduct on the pitch does not spark trouble.
A spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that officers have been liaising with both teams. This is routine procedure for Police Scotland.
“Over the last few years, officers have met with players to remind them of their responsibilities and conduct on the field.”
Dundee United and Aberdeen FC fans have a frosty history and tensions are expected to be high between both groups today.
When the sides met in the City of Discovery before Christmas, Aberdeen fans were banned from the Ambassador pub after violence broke out there.
There were also reports of trouble at Dundee’s Snug Bar on the December 13 match day.
Mounted police officers galloped up North Isla Street from Tannadice to deal with a group of around 30 “casuals” who had descended on that bar on Main Street.
The mounted officers were joined by a large number of other officers in cars and with dogs, and they quickly calmed the situation down.
One woman who witnessed the incident at the Ambassador said it was the worst scenes she had ever seen in the 20 or so years she has been going to Tannadice.
Aberdeen FC condemned the behaviour of a “tiny minority” of the club’s support and vowed to help identify those responsible.
Police confirmed that 17 arrests were made in the vicinity of the match, which the Dons won 2-0.