Simon Jordan Enters Celtic Ibrox Storm

Celtic interim chairman Brian Wilson’s comments following the chaotic scenes at Ibrox have drawn reaction from Simon Jordan.

The debate follows the scenes at Ibrox after Celtic’s penalty shoot-out win, when some Celtic supporters entered the pitch to celebrate before a group of Rangers supporters appeared to move towards them from the opposite end.

Wilson had suggested that it should not be a “race” for clubs to issue immediate condemnations before the full circumstances are known. His comments came amid wider discussion about responsibility, security and the handling of supporter behaviour after the final whistle.

Jordan addressed the issue during a debate, broadly agreeing that rushing to release statements is not always the most useful response. At the same time, he argued that modern football clubs often feel pressure to comment quickly because of the way public scrutiny works.

The former Crystal Palace owner also suggested that the main issue is not simply whether statements are released. Instead, he pointed to the need to understand how the situation developed and whether matchday arrangements were adequate.

The events at Ibrox remain under review. Authorities are examining footage and reports to determine exactly what occurred and whether any disciplinary action is required.

Jordan said: (talkSPORT), “The Celtic chairman, or whatever role he occupies, is right. It’s not a race to see condemnatory statement out there.

“But in this day and age, it is a part and parcel of the optics of a media-facing business in football. To be up front, to be across things so you don’t find yourself in the crosshairs of people’s judgements.

“The police officer’s description of the circumstances in whoever she was accounting to is almost a sideshow and distraction, that the two clubs haven’t condemned it.

“Because it’s really about what happened, and how the systems failed, and how the policing circumstances were allowed to be at a certain level, and was there enough police supporting it…

“I think ultimately, in this day and age… I don’t think [a statement] solves anything, because you’ve got to deal with the reasons why it was allowed to happen.

“But from the optics of presenting a conversation to people like us so they can’t be criticised, which is, in part, what the statement would be for, it wouldn’t be anything other than that…

“Jim, with respect, it’s meaningless. Because if they’re going to act behind the scenes and deal with it, what they’re suggesting is.. ‘This is what happened, and this is what we’re now going to say about it’.

“But that time has passed now. That could’ve been two or three days, ‘we’ve done our research, and now we’re going to take action against some of our fans who broke onto the pitch.’

“When you’re looking at the Celtic guy (Wilson), his attitude – and I can’t speak for Rangers, but his attitude was, ‘we haven’t done anything wrong’.”

Situations like this often lead to wider discussion about how incidents involving supporters are handled. Clubs, governing bodies and police tend to review what happened before deciding on any action.

Celtic say they will cooperate fully with the process. The Scottish FA review is expected to look at the matchday arrangements, supporter behaviour and how events unfolded after the final whistle.