Martin O’Neill admitted he was still trying to understand what happened during the chaotic scenes that followed his side’s Scottish Cup win at Ibrox.
O’Neill had just watched the Hoops battle through 120 minutes before winning on penalties. The manager praised the effort his players showed during a match where Celtic spent long periods defending their own box.
The celebrations after Tomas Cvancara’s winning penalty quickly turned tense near the pitchside area. Television pictures showed stewards and police moving toward the scene as players gathered close to the Celtic support.
Speaking shortly afterwards, O’Neill said he believed one of his coaching staff had stepped in when an individual came onto the field. The manager explained that the coach appeared to be trying to stop the situation from getting worse.
He said: (BBC Sportsound), “I don’t know how it started.
“I think one of our coaches definitely was wanting to prevent an incident happening.
“I think that was why the person who was on the field was wrestled to the ground.
“But I don’t really know any more about that at this stage.
“Old Firm games are explosive games. They always have been.”
Before the disorder, Celtic had been forced to dig in during the match itself. Rangers carried much of the attacking threat and delivered crosses into the penalty area throughout the afternoon.
Daizen Maeda thought he had broken the deadlock in the first half with a diving header. The goal was ruled out after VAR judged Liam Scales to be offside when the ball was flicked on inside the box.
The tie eventually moved to penalties after neither side could score during extra-time. Rangers missed one of their attempts and Cvancara stepped forward to finish the job, rolling his shot into the corner.
The result sends Celtic to Hampden for the semi-finals, although the post-match scenes ensured the conversation afterwards focused as much on the incident near the touchline as the football.
