Celtic's Brown in train bust-up; Celt pals in train bust-up.

Byline: Craig McDonald

CELTIC star Scott Brown was caught up in a bust-up which ended with two of his mates being thrown off a train.

Police had already been called to the station after Brown and team-mate Aiden McGeady were involved in a confrontation with another group of men on the platform.

And after McGeady, who had been celebrating his 23rd birthday in Newcastle, left to make his way back to Glasgow by car, officers had to step in again.

The Newcastle-Glasgow train Brown and his friends were on was delayed as two of the group were booted off. British Transport Police officers also issued verbal warnings to the rest of the men. An onlooker said: "There was singing and chanting at the station and eventually, the train arrived.

"The group got on and started shouting and swearing and so on.

"Two old ladies asked them to quieten down and stop swearing but the abuse got louder.

"Eventually, the police arrived and some of the guys were kicked off.

"The ticket collector then came in for abuse after the police left and Scott Brown was giving him earache.

"Brown tried to make peace with the two old ladies but they eventually moved seats.

"The train was delayed by six or seven minutes from leaving Newcastle due to the cops having to board to deal with it all."

Joe Gilmour, 25, from Paisley, was returning from a stag do in Newcastle with his friends when he saw the footballers and their friends at the station.

Bellies

He said: "We got to the station in Newcastle on Sunday evening and immediately heard shouting and singing.

"We recognised Scott Brown and Aiden McGeady among them.

"Some of the group were breakdancing on the platform, spinning round on their bellies.

"They saw some of us with our Rangers strips on and went on the wind-up. They were singing 'four-in-a-row' and chanting.

"It was over the top. They were trying to get a reaction.

"The police arrived and began to settle things down. We saw McGeady leave, while Brown and the rest of them got on the train. The noise and carry-on continued and the police had to have words.

"I found it a bit odd given what happened the other day with the Scotland squad.

"You'd have thought Brown would have wanted to keep his head down as much as possible."

A Celtic spokesman said they had received no report or complaint about the incident.

But a senior club source said: "Scott was part of a group who went down there for a night out to celebrate Aiden's birthday.

"There has been what you might call high jinks, but not much more than that."

A police spokeswoman said they received reports of shouting and swearing on the train.

She said: "Two members of the group were removed but not arrested. They were given verbal warnings, as were the rest of the group."

CAPTION(S):

ROW: Scott Brown BIRTHDAY: McGeady