Rangers video of players celebrating faked to include "f*** the Pope" chant, police say

A video of Rangers players celebrating was fabricated to appear as if they were chanting "f*** the Pope", police have confirmed.

The blue side of Glasgow won their first Scottish Premiership title for 10 years last season, seeing off rivals Celtic by 13 points.

But following the celebrations a clip emerged from the dressing room which falsely appeared to show players singing Neil Diamond hit "Sweet Caroline" as one line read "f*** the Pope".

An investigation was carried out following the clip’s release - and authorities have confirmed that the comment was dubbed over the top of an original clip.

Scottish Police have confirmed that a clip of Rangers players appearing to chant 'f*** the Pope' was faked

A statement from Police Scotland said: "Enquiries were made by Greater Glasgow CID with full co-operation from Rangers Football Club.

"Witnesses who were present at the time were spoken to and no reports of sectarian language were made.

"A mobile device was provided to the police by a member of the group which had video recorded footage of the players singing the song in question.

"Specialists from Police Scotland’s Cyber Crime Unit reviewed the video and confirmed this was an original recording and that it had not been edited in any way.

"No sectarian language was heard.

"The assessment by Police Scotland is that the video circulated on social media was edited to include sectarian language.

"From the evidence gathered no crime has been established relating to the Rangers players or staff."

The Ibrox side have responded quickly to the emergence of the video, slamming the addition of the language which has sparked a furious reaction.

A statement on the club website read: "We are aware of a video circulating on social media.

"It is evident that this video was shared with an adjoining narrative which attempts to discredit our players and the reputation of Rangers Football Club. This highlights the dangers of ‘trial by social media.’

"It is deeply concerning that this video has been taken as genuine and has been shared widely including by some political representatives who should be mindful of their influence and legal processes.

"Our squad is richly diverse. Sectarianism is unacceptable and has no place in our club which is underlined by our Everyone Anyone campaign."