Scotland’s famously rowdy Tartan Army has spent the 2026 World Cup turning cities across the United States into bagpipe-filled celebrations, but Florida wasn’t nearly as amused. A viral video shows a fan wearing a red tartan kilt being led away in handcuffs by multiple Miami-Dade Sheriff’s deputies during the Miami Marlins’ game against the Texas Rangers, leaving social media users wondering what happened.
Earlier in the evening, more than 8,000 Scottish supporters reportedly packed LoanDepot Park as part of the Marlins’ “Tartan Army Ticket Package,” bringing chants, kilts, and plenty of energy ahead of Scotland’s World Cup match against Brazil. The supporters have earned an international reputation for turning host cities into giant celebrations, with locals often joining in on the fun rather than trying to stop it.
A fan sporting a bright Scottish outfit can be seen in a clip posted on Instagram placing a traffic cone over the head of the statue of Juan Ponce de León in the center of Miami.
Why Scottish Fans Keep Putting Traffic Cones on Statues
Decorating statues with orange traffic cones has become one of the Tartan Army’s best-known traditions, with similar pranks taking place across Scotland and during international tournaments for decades.
After climbing down, the supporter joked, “They’re obviously not Boston,” a comment that quickly spread online.
Hours later, another video from the same day began circulating online, this time showing a fan in a red tartan kilt being escorted through LoanDepot Park in handcuffs by several Miami-Dade Sheriff’s deputies. The fan appears cooperative throughout the clip, but authorities have not publicly confirmed why he was taken into custody.
Neither the Miami Marlins nor the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office has publicly commented on the incident, and The Nerd Stash could not independently verify whether the fan shown in the video was connected to the earlier traffic cone incident. Regardless, both clips quickly spread across social media, sparking debate over Florida’s response to the famously playful Tartan Army.
Internet Reacts to Tartan Army Fan Handcuffed at Florida Marlins Game
Many viewers questioned whether the situation warranted such a large police response. One commenter asked, “What’d he do? Let ’em have fun if they’re not hurting anyone or vandalizing things,” while another wrote, “There’s something uniquely Florida about taking an international sporting atmosphere and immediately converting it into local law enforcement content.”
A third kept it simple: “Boooo Let them have their fun, they are not hurting anyone.” One user had a theory about how it all unfolded: “I’m going to go with ‘Florida Man talked a Scot into Florida Man things in front of the Police.’”
Others couldn’t help comparing Miami to Boston, where the Tartan Army received a much warmer welcome earlier in the tournament. “Nah, that’s a rare Florida L,” one person wrote. Another joked, “They’re obviously not Boston,” echoing the viral remark from the earlier traffic cone incident.
Whether the arrest was connected to the earlier traffic cone antics remains unclear. Still, the videos have become one of the more talked-about moments of Scotland’s visit to South Florida. With no public explanation from the authorities, many online continue to debate whether the Tartan Army’s playful traditions simply ran into the wrong audience.
