So far, the Ibrox row has seen statements delivered by the SFA, Police Scotland and every pundit under the sun as the trouble after Celtic’s cup win over Rangers continues to dominate the headlines.
The SFA have warned Celtic and Rangers that an investigation will be carried out into the shameful scenes that have marred a fine win by Martin O’Neill’s side.
Police Scotland’s Ibrox statement confirmed that they will join the SFA to investigate the carnage, but as yet, there has been no word from Celtic themselves.
And O’Neill has delivered a nudge to the board as he says he is not Celtic’s ‘mouthpiece’ when asked about the events at Ibrox on Sunday.
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How can we ensure that the Glasgow derby can continue having full allocations after the latest incident?
Martin O’Neill’s Ibrox ‘viewpoint as the manager’ as Celtic silence continues
The silence from Celtic is palpable, especially when the fans who were at Ibrox are being smeared in the Scottish press continues.
And the Hoops boss addresses the mute board as O’Neill told Sky Sports, “There’s no question that the result itself has been overshadowed by events.
“I’m certainly not the official mouthpiece for the football club, and I accept that there have been no statements put out.
“From my own viewpoint, as the manager, obviously, a great result for us to win – we were short of our senior players, but people stepped up to the mark. But then the scenes at the end, which I thought were scenes of joy and happiness – the crowd spilled over, and obviously, there’s great potential then for serious harm to be done. I agree with that.”
O’Neill ‘saddened’ by Ibrox scenes as Celtic boss fears for allocation
Most of the chatter now is all about how away fan ticket allocations for future Glasgow Derbies should be ended.
And O’Neill thinks that would be a sad day for Scottish football.
The Celtic boss continued, “I’ve been the manager here 25 years ago. I don’t think we played Rangers at Ibrox in the Cup, but we certainly played them [away] twice a season for five years, and we had the full allocation of tickets with seven-odd thousand people there, and I don’t think there was ever a pitch invasion at any given stage.
“I was a big advocate that without the full allocation of away fans, I thought the Old Firm game – still a fantastic fixture, no question about it – had lost some of its lustre.
“The noise emanating from Ibrox, both last Sunday, and the Sunday before that, when we had only 2,500 people, was something I have not heard for a long, long time. Maybe, Celtic playing Liverpool away back in 2003 have I heard a noise emanating from a stadium like that. There was something really magical about it, and I’m really quite saddened by the events.
“Overall, it’s a shame because I think the things that I was hoping would happen, and happen for a long time, may now not happen anymore – the full allocation, both at Ibrox and Celtic, maybe being taken away.”
The hysteria and fallout of the Ibrox aftermath will undoubtedly continue for the rest of this week, and possibly for the rest of the season.
But as calm heads are required, it’s time the Celtic board broke their silence and commented on the scenes, if only to defend the fans.
But it seems that is unlikely, because a full 72 hours later, and the silence from the Parkhead suits continues and has no end in sight.
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