Police are warning banned supporters and those convicted of football-related offences to "behave responsibly" ahead of this weekend's Scottish Cup semi-finals.

Thousands of football fans are expected to descend on Glasgow at the weekend as Rangers play Celtic on Sunday and Hibernian face Dundee United the previous day at Hampden Park.

Officers from British Transport Police (BTP) have a "robust" policing operation in place and have contacted potential troublemakers ahead of the matches.

A statement from BTP said: "A number of people who have had a football banning orders (FBO) imposed by a court or have been convicted of a football-related offence on the rail network in Scotland in the past two years are being contacted.

"Officers are contacting the banned supporters of the conditions of a FBO and the need to behave responsibly."

Police will be highly visible at the main hub stations, including Glasgow Central and Mount Florida, and will be carrying out "substantially more on-train patrols".

The policing operation will also include BTP officers in England monitoring the journeys of supporters using cross-border services. They will also be wearing body video cameras, which can record of supporters, to help reassure passengers and staff.

Alcohol restrictions will be place on many ScotRail services before and after the matches to help prevent antisocial behaviour or football-related disorder.

Chief inspector David Marshall, who is heading up the BTP operations, said: "BTP is extremely experienced in policing large numbers of people travelling to football matches and other sporting events.

"Our planning has been ongoing for many weeks and we have been working closely with our rail industry partners and Police Scotland colleagues to ensure these matches pass without incident and everyone can enjoy what will be a tremendous spectacle of football."

Mr Marshall added: "It is important to stress that not everyone travelling on the train before and after the match is going to one of the semi-finals.

"We do not want them or rail staff having to endure any kind of disorder a minority of football supporters get involved in.

"Alcohol restrictions are being imposed by the train operator for good reasons. So, visible alcohol can be confiscated and anyone excessively under the influence of alcohol could be refused travel by train and miss the match."

The Scottish Grand National also takes place on Saturday and race-goers travelling to Ayr and back again by train are also advised that alcohol restrictions will be in place.

A ScotRail spokeswoman said: "We've got a busy weekend of sport ahead as we take passengers to the Scottish Cup semi-finals at Hampden and the Scottish Grand National at Ayr Racecourse.

"We'll be using every train at our disposal to add extra carriages to services between Glasgow Central and Mount Florida and Ayr, however, trains are expected to be very busy.

"Make sure to check your train times on our website or app and leave plenty of time for travel. Buying tickets in advance will also help reduce your queuing time."

ScotRail will have extra staff on the ground to assist customers and alcohol bans will be in place.