ALEX Salmond last night urged Manchester to throw a party for Rangers fans, suggesting Old Trafford should be opened to ticketless fans to watch their team in the Uefa Cup final on big screens.
The First Minister called on the host city to "be positive" towards Rangers supporters after police and the local council said only those with tickets would be welcome for the game against Zenit St Petersburg.
The match, which takes place a week o
n Wednesday, will be played at the City of Manchester Stadium, but less than a fifth of the 100,000 Rangers fans expected to travel will have tickets.
That means up to 85,000 Rangers supporters will be left to their own devices and, with Manchester City Council refusing to put up big screens for ticketless fans, there are increasing fears over potential crowd trouble.
Scotland on Sunday learned yesterday that several senior Strathclyde Police officers believe using Old Trafford to allow the fans to watch the game would be an ideal way to combat many of the problems.
Last night, the First Minister said he, too, welcomed that idea.
A spokesman for Salmond said: "The suggestion of opening Old Trafford and erecting big screens there is certainly something worth considering."
Ever since Rangers qualified for the final last Thursday, there have been concerns voiced by officials in Manchester about them travelling to the city.
Police and council chiefs have said there will not be any facilities for ticketless fans in an effort to keep them away.
But Salmond believes this is the wrong approach. His spokesman said: "As Glasgow has shown in recent years, hosting a major European final can be a great thing for a city and can bring benefits.
"We would urge Manchester to be positive about the prospect of fans coming from Scotland for the game and Strathclyde Police have a lot of expertise to share in this respect.
"Anything that the Scottish Government can do we will do to make things run smoothly and help in the sharing of expertise. "
Dougie Dick, a spokesman for the London Rangers Supporters' Club, said fans would travel to Manchester whatever the police advice.
"I think opening Old Trafford would be a great idea and would help the supporters and the city of Manchester too.
"It makes a lot of sense because everyone who is a Rangers supporter will be down there that day for the game, no matter what anyone says."
One senior Strathclyde officer said the Old Trafford idea "simply made perfect sense". "Even if you only had three sides of the ground open with big TV screens at the other, the fact that the stadium could take around 50,000 supporters – up to 75% of those due to attend – would be an ideal move.
"It would allow the fans to be properly stewarded and prevent excess drinking and would make it much easier for Greater Manchester Police to control."
It is expected that Strathclyde Police will tomorrow start looking for volunteers to help their colleagues south of the border on the big match day.
The force insider said: "It makes sense for there to be as many Scottish officers down there as possible because we have had years of experience of handling such games.
"You will have up to 100,000 Rangers' fans in the city all wanting a bevvy and many without a ticket and we know how to handle that situation better than anyone."
The fact the game is being played in England means that because there are not any border controls, the authorities are powerless to prevent anyone from going, apart from the handful of Rangers fans who are currently under football banning orders.
The police insider said: "It is ironic, throughout all the club's games abroad this season there has not been a scrap of trouble and hardly any arrests."
The risk of problems has been exacerbated because of the violent reputation of the followers of their Russian opponents'.
Zenit fans have a reputation for having a hard-core hooligan backing, many of whom hold far-right tendencies. During their side's 2-0 home win over Marseilles in the competition earlier this year, St Petersburg supporters – known as 'the Gremlins' – hung a toy monkey from the terraces wearing a replica French top and repeatedly targeted the visiting team's black players.
