Martin O’Neill has spoken about the scenes that followed Celtic’s Scottish Cup win at Ibrox, admitting the events at full-time were disappointing after what had been a hard-fought match. The game itself finished level after 120 minutes before Celtic held their nerve in the penalty shootout.
When the winning penalty was scored, celebrations in the away section quickly spilled onto the pitch. Celtic supporters ran onto the field near their end to celebrate the victory. Moments later, Rangers supporters appeared from another area and moved toward the same part of the pitch.
The situation quickly became tense as stewards and police attempted to restore order. The match had already been intense, with both teams pushing hard across the full 120 minutes. Once the shootout ended, the emotions inside the stadium shifted from tension to celebration and then confusion as the pitch filled with supporters.
O’Neill was still on the pitch when the situation developed. The Celtic manager explained that he had gone out to acknowledge the away support before realising how quickly events were unfolding around him.
He said: (Celtic FC YouTube), “I thought, naturally, the rules are that people should stay in their positions. I thought there was a lot of emotion, joy, things like that there, coming on, our crowd coming in.
“Next thing you know, I’m up there. My general thing is maybe to wave to the away fans at the end, regardless of the result. And then you seem to be caught in the middle of it.
“Next thing you know, the Rangers fans are coming at the other end. So yeah, obviously the scenes weren’t great. So I think the SFA are holding an enquiry about it.
“And to me, the saddest part about it all is that, of course you don’t want anybody injured for a start, although they think there were some scenes outside the football club. But to me, the idea then that the full allocation of tickets looks as if that will disappear again. And that’s something that, as I said to you, I would like to have seen.
“And I assume that because of those scenes, it probably won’t happen. I suppose that was a bigger allocation for the top anyway. A league allocation is still bigger than it was, but it’s smaller than the weekend.”
The return of larger away allocations had been a talking point before the match. Thousands of Celtic supporters were inside Ibrox, creating a louder away presence than in recent seasons.
O’Neill suggested that the fallout from the incident could now affect that arrangement. If authorities decide the risk is too high, the number of away supporters at future matches may fall again.
For many involved in Scottish football, that possibility is frustrating. Bigger away sections had helped restore a sense of rivalry inside the stadium.
The focus now moves to the investigation. The Scottish FA are expected to examine the events at the end of the match before deciding what action should follow.
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