Uefa orders Scotland fans to remove celebration videos from X

Scotland fans criticized UEFA after videos of fans celebrating their team’s qualification for the World Cup were removed from social media.

The Scottish Football Supporters’ Association (SFSA) has received emails from the European football governing body stating that X had shared footage showing the TV broadcast of the Scotland v Denmark match without permission.

Posts shared by the SFSA showed fans across the country celebrating Tuesday night’s match, which saw Scotland qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1998.

Many of the videos were removed due to copyright infringement and SFSA’s account was blocked.

SFSA co-founder Paul Goodwin questioned the fairness of the claim.

He said: “It is hard to believe that Uefa were so oblivious as to demand that X remove photographs of joyful fans in pubs in Glasgow, Stirling and Dundee, where some of our members were celebrating a glorious evening for the nation.

“It looks like people making decisions who really have no idea about football.”

Tuesday’s match was broadcast free-to-air on BBC Scotland and BBC Two. Rights differ elsewhere.

One of the videos that was removed showed a packed pub in Inverurie erupting as Scott McTominay scored with a bicycle kick in the third minute of the game.

Mr Goodwin added: “Yes, the match was on in the background but these clips were of fans watching the match legally on the BBC and were on average 40 seconds long.

“So it’s unlikely we’ll be able to broadcast a game to a worldwide audience.”

The group received emails from lawyers on behalf of UEFA after posts of match footage were flagged for breaching UEFA rules.

Mr Goodwin said he was “shocked” when the videos were deleted and the group’s account was blocked.

“Our message to UEFA is perhaps best summarized by the slogan directed at match officials: ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’.”

Scotland qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1998 They defeated Denmark in a memorable 4-2 win at Hampden.

Goals from Scott McTominay, Lawrence Shankland, Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean secured Scotland’s place at the 2026 World Cup to be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Along with fan reactions, video edits of the goals, particularly McTominay’s bicycle kick, were widely shared on social media sites such as Instagram and TikTok, as well as X.

Scottish Labor culture spokesman Neil Bibby described the suspensions as “harsh”.

He said: “Scotland’s victory on Tuesday night was a historic moment for the country.

“But it was also a fantastic advertisement for the beautiful game around the world.

“I hope UEFA reconsiders its position, because these clips powerfully illustrate the exciting and dramatic moments that international football can create.”

UEFA frequently removes YouTube videos due to strict copyright enforcement.

European football’s governing body owns the broadcast rights to its matches and generally restricts the uploading of match footage by unofficial channels and fans.

According to UEFA rules, the governing body is “the exclusive owner of all intellectual property rights to the competition, including existing or future rights to any audio and visual material of the competition”.

UEFA has been approached for comment.