Soldiers in Northern Ireland have been banned from wearing Old Firm football shirts when off duty. Senior army officials have said wearing the shirts of Glasgow football clubs Rangers and Celtic could be viewed as sectarian harassment.
Troops at Kinnegar Camp, near Belfast, were given the order following a complaint from a member of the public.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: "The MoD advises all employees that the wearing of emblems which could be misconstrued as offensive should be avoided.
"Emblems linked directly to the community over the past 30 years and or local politics clearly have potential to cause disruption to that working environment."
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The move follows a complaint after a soldier was spotted wearing an Old Firm top while conducting physical training inside the barracks, in Hollywood, Co Down.
An Army spokesman said he did not know if the soldier had been wearing a Celtic or Rangers shirt at the logistics base, which is home to 900 personnel - 500 civilian staff and 400 troops from the Northern Ireland Combat Services Support Regiment.
In a memo, the camp adjutant said: "Needless to say, this practice is to stop. Wearing these types of tops is considered offensive in some cases and can be construed as sectarian harassment in others.
"In the interests of neutrality, wearing neither Celtic nor Rangers tops means the Army can never be accused of favouring one element of the community over the other.
"Unfortunately this is one of those areas where the military, for good reasons, has to interfere with what the soldiers wear when off duty."
PA