For the 2026 World Cup, Scotland’s Tartan Army has transformed American cities into non-stop parties set to bagpipe music. Massachusetts loved the fun; however, Florida didn’t quite get the memo. A widely shared social media video depicts a fan in a red tartan kilt being led away in handcuffs by a posse of Miami-Dade Sheriff’s deputies through the LoanDepot Park concourse during a baseball game between the Marlins and the Texas Rangers.
Neither the Marlins nor the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office has offered public commentary on the event at this time.
The evening began in boisterous fashion. Over 8,000 Scottish soccer fans filled the stands at LoanDepot Park under what the Marlins themselves branded a “Tartan Army ticket package.”
The trouble, though, began to occur before the first pitch.
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 – an act of salute to the Tartan Army’s decades-long tradition of adorning statues with orange traffic cones.
Their efforts did not escape the notice of the local Miami police, one of whose patrol cars’ horns could be heard blaring as they advised the person, “Get off of there.” Upon compliance, the supporter uttered a sentence that soon went viral: “They’re obviously not Boston.”
Soon, a video began circulating on social media platforms showing Miami-Dade sheriff deputies escorting a Scottish Tartan Army fan (wearing a red tartan kilt) in handcuffs. The fan is being held by the arms and walked forward by several uniformed officers.
He appears to be cooperating, but is clearly detained and handcuffed behind his back. The arrest is reportedly in connection with cone-related antics that clashed with stricter local enforcement.
The Nerd Stash could not independently confirm the exact reason for the arrest. But what we do know is that Florida has now seen two notable incidents involving Scottish Tartan Army fans during their lively invasion of Miami ahead of Scotland’s World Cup match against Brazil.
Internet Reacts to Tartan Army Fan Handcuffed at Florida Marlins Game
Reactions on X leaned heavily toward sympathy for the fan. One commenter wrote, “What’d he do? Let ‘em have fun if they’re not hurting anyone or vandalizing things.” Another observed, “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.’”
Another brought up the Boston comparison directly: “Nah, that’s a rare Florida L. Regarding sports, Boston Rules are the best. Nobody riots, plenty of shenanigans, very little actual damage.”
Scotland plays Brazil on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. The match is Scotland’s final Group C game and could decide qualification to the knockout round.
