Former Celtic attacker Kris Commons has this week been speaking out on the abuse that players turning out for both the Hoops and Rangers can receive in Glasgow, writing in his Scottish Daily Mail column (06/01 print edition, Verdict supplement, page 16).
Citing publicised incidents involving Celtic captain Scott Brown and Ibrox forward Alfredo Morelos, Commons feels that at times the rivalry can spill over into some out of order treatment of players in the city.
The Sky Sports man also had his own example to give, recalling something that happened shortly after he signed up at Celtic Park in 2011.
As quoted by The Scottish Daily Mail (06/01 print edition, Verdict supplement, page 16), he said: “Not long after I joined Celtic in 2011, I got my first taste of exactly what life would be like in the Glasgow goldfish bowl.
“I was sitting in my car at a set of traffic lights on Maryhill Road when a man came out of a shop, spotted me, and started giving it big licks, calling me all sorts. I tried to just ignore him and laugh it off.
“Now, I would like to reiterate at this point that this was a fully-grown man I would reckon in his mid-30s and not just a daft, young kid. He then got on his push bike and started chasing me like a man possessed for a good mile or so down the road.
“There I was, just two seconds in the door at Celtic, and I’m being chased in my car by a maniac on a bike.”
Commons has now called on both Celtic and Rangers to take a united stand to clamp out what he calls ‘narrow-minded bigotry’ on both sides of the Glasgow football divide.
He reckons the clubs are doing themselves no favours by issuing tit-for-tat statements, asking them join forces to deal with the problem he sees.
He has a point calling out unacceptable behaviour. Public life as a footballer comes with demands of course, but when scrutiny crosses the line then it’s really sad to see.
At its best, our rivalry with Rangers is a great advert for Scottish football, but as Commons points out there’s still a bit of work to do to make sure that out-of-order fans don’t bring extremity to proceedings.
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