Four key areas of exploration were agreed late Wednesday following the latest summit on dealing with the problems surrounding Old Firm derbies.

The chief executives of Scottish football’s three main governing bodies plus representatives from Strathclyde Police and the Scottish Government will now finalise a plan of action following subsequent meetings but before the start of next season.

The Scottish Football Association revealed that the areas include ensuring the “existing rules and regulations of Scottish football are rigorously applied and respected”.

The second area agreed upon is to discuss how the scheduling of fixtures between Celtic and Rangers can be implemented to minimise damage to communities.

The bodies will also look at supporting the expansion of the “excellent existing community and social partnerships between the Old Firm” to further encourage mutual respect and co-operation by all parties.

And more talks will be held on supporting the work done by clubs, authorities and police to address “alcohol misuse, sectarianism, racism, domestic abuse and violence”.

The meeting follows a summit last month, which was chaired by First Minister Alex Salmond at the request of the police force.

The talks came following in-creasing social problems which surround the fixture and place strain on the emergency services, and came in the wake of a volatile Scottish Cup clash at Celtic Park which saw three Rangers players sent off and Celtic manager Neil Lennon and Gers assistant Ally McCoist handed touchline bans following a post-match disagreement.

The subsequent Old Firm match, Rangers’ League Cup final win on March 20, passed off without incident on the park but it was marred by an upsurge of sectarian chanting.