Celtic booked their place in the Scottish Cup semi-finals after a long and tense afternoon at Ibrox, but the final scenes of the match were overshadowed by troubling reports from the touchline.
The game itself went the full distance. Neither side could find a goal across 120 minutes, despite both teams thinking they had broken the deadlock at different points. Daizen Maeda’s diving header in the first half looked to have given Celtic the lead before VAR ruled Liam Scales offside in the build-up.
Rangers pushed hard during the second half and extra-time. They delivered balls into the box and forced Celtic deep inside their own half. Viljami Sinisalo had to react quickly when crosses dropped into dangerous areas, while defenders threw themselves into blocks to keep the score level.
The tie eventually moved to penalties. Rangers missed one of their attempts, which opened the door for Celtic. Tomas Cvancara stepped forward and calmly rolled his spot kick into the corner, sending the Celtic support behind the goal into celebration.
For the first time in years the Broomloan Stand held a full away crowd for this fixture. The reaction after the winning penalty was immediate as players ran toward the travelling supporters.
The situation then turned chaotic near the pitchside area.
During the broadcast, Premier Sports commentator Rory Hamilton reported that a Celtic staff member had been attacked as the celebrations unfolded.
He said: “One of the Celtic coaching staff has been attacked by an individual. It is an ugly, ugly end to what has been a superb game of football. There is absolutely no need. This is lunacy.”
Television pictures also showed Cvancara with blood on his shirt while Celtic players gathered near the touchline. It was not immediately clear how that had happened.
Police officers and stewards moved quickly across the pitch as the situation developed. Both sets of players were escorted away from the area while order was restored.
The focus for Celtic on the pitch was clear. They held their nerve under pressure, survived long spells of defending, and delivered when the shootout arrived. But the closing scenes at Ibrox raised serious questions about the safety of Celtic player and staff on the touchline.
want spoil my take on game you cover your face with anything your there fir trouble these masks have to be removed then you have them if clubs bar these balacavas then police and srewards can remove them from the game yes again Rangers footbal club have shamed scottish football remember cup final got beat riots on pitch with no fan spl where they defied covid rules and left George square a dump and even fighting with each other they got away with those cause they said it was not at Ibrox now it is what going to happen now