The attackers kicked and stamped on the head and body of a 48-year-old man after knocking him to the ground as he was trying to board a Celtic supporters’ bus.
Prosecutors from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) told the court that the violent attack was a hate crime motivated by religious prejudice.
Scott Dragsness, 55, and Ben Stanex, 24, both of Belfast, and Andrew Graham, 21, of Dundonald, all Northern Ireland, pled guilty to the assault to danger of life at a hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
Today, Dragsness was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment while Stanex and Graham each received 12 months.
All three were given seven-year Football Banning Orders, which ban them from every football ground in the UK and from travelling to support any team.
Fraser Gibson of COPFS, who is Procurator Fiscal for Glasgow and Strathkelvin, said:
“Football-related violence is a blight on Scotland’s communities. It will not be tolerated.
The victim in this case was subjected to mindless sectarian thuggery by the three accused, who were visitors to the city.
“It should be understood that anyone who involves themselves in football-related disorder can expect to be held accountable by COPFS, Police Scotland and the courts using every tool available to us.”
A police drone monitoring the dispersal of fans from Ibrox stadium captured the entirety of the attack while a further recording was made by a driver stuck in traffic near the supporters bus.
The men kicked and stamped on the victim with such ferocity that he was left lying in the road unconscious.
He was rushed to the nearby Queen Elizabeth University Hospital where scans revealed a bleed on the brain.