GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - MARCH 08: Rangers fans storm the pitch at full time during a Scottish Gas Scottish Cup Quarter-Final match between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox Stadium, on March 08, 2026, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Alan Harvey/SNS Group via Getty Images)
What should have been a proud Celtic victory on 8 March 2026 at Ibrox left a very bitter taste in my mouth.
Yes, Celtic won the battle on the pitch. The players showed courage, discipline and nerve in the penalty shoot-out and earned exactly what they deserved. They knocked the Ibrox club out of the Scottish Cup and reminded everyone once again that, when the pressure rises highest, Celtic still find a way.
That should have been the story. Instead, what followed turned it into something else entirely.
I felt proud of Celtic. I felt proud of the mentality, the resilience and the way the players kept their nerve. But I also felt shocked, angry and deeply upset by what happened afterwards. Football rivalry is one thing. What we saw after that match went far beyond rivalry. It was disgraceful.
To be honest, I watched the game with my nerves already shredded. Matches like that always feel one mistake away from disaster and one moment away from joy. The pressure. The noise. The tension. The constant fear that one lapse changes everything. That is what this fixture always does to you as a supporter.
Then Celtic got through it.
The penalties came, the pressure rose again, and the lads delivered. After the Ibrox captain missed, Celtic showed composure where it mattered. Penalties from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Auston Trusty, Reo Hatate and Tomas Cvancara won it for us and sent the Hoops into the semi-final.
That should have been a moment to celebrate. Instead, the ugly scenes that followed took over.
Let me be clear. I am not talking about ordinary disappointment or angry reactions to defeat. I am not even talking about the usual bitterness that always surrounds this fixture.
No, I am talking about violence, aggression and behaviour that should have no place near a football ground.
After the final whistle, instead of simply accepting that Celtic had won, sections of the home support reacted in the worst possible way. Supporters entered the pitch. Missiles were thrown. Chaos took over. Police and stewards were forced to intervene. Officers and members of the public were injured. Arrests were made.
Police Scotland themselves called it “shameful behaviour”.
And what made it worse, from my point of view, was that this all came after a game Celtic had won fairly. There was no injustice here. No grand conspiracy. No one stole anything from them. Celtic held their nerve and won.
But some people simply could not accept it. That is what appals me most.
The inability to lose with any dignity at all. The inability to take defeat like human beings and go home angry, disappointed, raging, whatever you want, without turning it into something violent and ugly.
Real supporters can be heartbroken, furious and devastated when their team loses. Real supporters do not turn a football defeat into mayhem.
That is why I keep coming back to the same point.
This was not passion. This was not rivalry. It was something much uglier.
I know some people will say this is just Glasgow derby intensity. I know some will try to fold it into the usual tired clichés about both sides, hatred, rivalry and history. But that will not do for me. Because that language normalises what should never be normalised.
There is a line. On 8 March that line was crossed.
As a Celtic fan, what angered me almost as much as the violence itself was the attempt by some people to immediately muddy the waters. We know how this works by now. There will be excuses and blame shifting.
There will be people trying to spread responsibility around so thinly that nobody is actually held accountable.
But what I saw was simple; Celtic won, and sections of the home support reacted in a way that brought shame on themselves, their club and the game. That is not a difficult thing to say. And yet some people still struggle to say it.
Watching the footage afterwards made it even worse. The scenes on the pitch were bad enough, but what happened outside the stadium was the part that really turned my stomach. Supporters trying to leave the area safely found themselves caught up in violence and panic. Videos that have circulated online are sickening to watch. A Celtic supporter near one of the buses was attacked and left injured.
Nobody should have to fear that after going to a football match.
Nobody should go to support their team and end up leaving in fear, shock or pain.
Football fans should not celebrate a win and find that celebration overshadowed by violence.
That is what makes this so hard to accept.
Because the result should have filled Celtic supporters with joy. Instead, the joy was mixed with anger and disbelief. And I keep coming back to one question.
Why is it so hard for some people simply to accept that they lost?
Why must every Celtic victory in that environment come with this sense that the supporters, the players and the staff have to be on alert afterwards as well?
For the love of God, why should that be part of the experience of winning a football match?
It should not. That is why this cannot just be dismissed as “one of those things” or “what happens in derby football”. No. There are always emotions in matches like these. There is always hostility. There is always tension.
But violence is a choice. Aggression is a choice. Disorder is a choice.
And those choices were made.
The thing that also struck me was how quickly the actual football risked disappearing from the story. Celtic had just won a huge game under huge pressure. The players showed bravery and composure. The manager got them through. The team found a way again. But instead of all of that being at the centre, the focus immediately shifted to the disgrace that followed.
That is what hurts.
Celtic did their job. The support celebrated. Then behaviour that has no place in any sport darkened the whole event.
As a supporter my feelings are still all over the place. Part of me feels proud and delighted because this was a massive win. Another part feels angry because the players and supporters deserved better than to have their moment invaded by all of that ugliness.
Another part of me feels genuinely saddened that in 2026 we still talk about scenes like this around football matches. We should be beyond this.
Football at its best feels emotional, loud, tribal and unforgettable. It gives supporters moments of pure joy and despair. It unites families, friends and communities and it gives you stories you carry for life. Football at its worst produces scenes like those.
That is why what happened matters.
Not because it was dramatic. Not because it feeds rivalries, not because it makes headlines.
It matters because it harms people and stains the game.
I am proud of how Celtic handled the pressure on the pitch. I am proud of the mentality the team showed and of the supporters who backed the team.
But I am disgusted by the ugliness that followed, unleashed by the home support, and anyone who loves football should say that plainly.
Celtic won the match. That should have been enough. Instead, many of us ended the night with celebration mixed with shock.
That reality condemns what the game becomes when people lose all sense of proportion, all self control and all respect for others.
Rivalry has a place in football. Hatred and violence do not.
That is the truth of 8 March for me. It should have been remembered simply as a big Celtic win. Instead it will also be remembered as a night when sections of the home support shamed Scottish football. No genuine supporter of the game should ever defend that.
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The response from the orks was pre- meditated, pre-arranged, pre-orchestrated- call it what you will bjy id bet we would have seen the same if therangurs had actually won the game. Why go to football match with your kiddies spiderman mask in your pocket- and hundreds of them other than to fulfil a pre- arranged plan. The American should be supplying the names and addresses of every single one of those “peepul” to the police who should be rounding them up to serve them with arrest for breaking numerous laws and then a lifetime ban from football and maybe a well spell in BarL.
Sundays nonsense cant go unpinished but no doubt it will.
And didnt the records screaming headline of hundreds of thousands of damage disappear quickly when some photos emerged. There is no excuse for what our fans did and they shod be made to pay for the seats that were damaged…but it wasnt hundreds etc etc… I doubt t a retraction and correction will be printed.
As usual the huns embarrass themselves and Scotland and ruin it for everyone
Paulina, when it comes to the huns, the word normal can never be applied to them. They have never accepted defeat gracefully, that is just not part of their psyche, for normal behaviour is alien to those ingrates. It is what Celtic supporters have had to tolerate all of our lives, and yes their inbred hatred is unfortunately the norm, violence from them is expected and they very seldom let us down. When I was younger growing up, and even not so young, I traded blow for blow with those animals, for when you are attacked you either run or you stand up for yourself, and I have never turned the other cheek when it comes to those degenerates. It’s not something I am proud of, but it’s just the way it is in this hateful environment, you learn to sink or you swim. Being a football supporter in Scotland is not quite as straightforward as it is in other countries, certainly not for us proud Tims.
Celtic ban Green Brigade for, allegedly, one assault on a member of security staff at Parkhead. The Union Bears violently attacked Celtic supporters, Celtic personnel, security officers and police officers with metal poles, flagpoles, fists and feet. Including kicking a man in the head inside the ground. Several (6?) of them stamped on the head of a Celtic supporter, outside the ground, who was trying to board his bus home. Let’s see what sort of ban these cowards get.
Security staff and police were responsible for allowing Sevco fans to prevent the rolling out of the protection tunnel. That alone says the security and police need to be held accountable for that. Celtic players and staff were targeted deliberately at that tunnel. Some of them responded, which was silly. But make no mistake, the police, security and Sevco fans were 100% responsible for that situation.
Celtic should refuse to play that lot again, at their shit pit, unless all those responsible for that situation are heavily dealt with. Afterall, the Celtic board took one mans word, that he was assaulted, without any evidence to then hand out a lengthy ban to several hundred people. What’s the bet the Celtic board will accept this attack on us and take no serious stance, never mind take any action?
There also has to be questions raised as to why Ibrox security and police allowed the Sevconians to spill onto the pitch, charge to the other end then run back like the cowards they are, without arresting a single one of them. They also watched the Sevconian ignite and throw that flare into the Celtic fans. No attempt whatsoever was made to apprehend the cowardly thug.
Media pictures also show at least 3 police officers watching the Sevconian photographed kicking another man in the head. Not one of them made any attempt to arrest him. That attack was as serious as ABH or GBH and should carry a custodial sentence. Those who stood and watched that attack should be sacked. They are not capable of protecting the public.
Yes, our fans were wrong to spill out of the stand but that does not excuse the violence they were subjected to. If it was up to me Ibrox should be closed doors for several games. And i’d never let their fans into our stadium. We must ban them for life. If they in turn ban us from the shit pit, then good, that way we can’t be blamed for their violence. Ban the scummy Sevconian cowards.
I agree. A full stadium closure for next time we are at Ibrox and then no away fans. The tax payer should not be paying for this. Our fans should not have entered the pitch but the police should have had a full corden as is normal to prevent such things. No excuse for what followed.
The league game post split at CP must be home fans only because they will almost certainly invade the pitch to try and get a reaction.
The police have already come out and said they can no longer police an enlarged away support at these games so no away support is probably best for the foreseeable.
This doesnt look good for the ultras. Especially there lot but ours also!
Are Sevco still populating their games with the Volunteer Stewards, supporters who can apply to be stewards receive no training and just turn up and do the job free of charge to reduce the club’s costs and get to watch the match?
First thing I’d like to address, the morons scrawling grafitti about the Ibrox disaster, its not on, and whoever does these things should be ashamed.
As for the rest,
the Scottish media- the cowards need to hold them accountable, especially the BBC House Paddy, Tom English, a fucking disgrace amongst others.
Police Scotland- they have to apply the law and manage the events they are paid to police. They failed.
The hosts- RFC* there have been a number of incidents at their stadium where Celtic fans and staff have been targetted and ASSAULTED, all to a background of unadulterated hatred and a cacophony of bigoted songs that if you sung them outwith the stadium, you would be lifted and prosecuted, a fact. Anyone Everyone diversity campaign, an absolute sham.
Here are just some that I can remember
The paedo who attempted to attack Scott Brown.
Joe Hart, glass incident
Sinisalo first game at Ibrox, missiles galore.
Matt O’Reilly, missiles galore.
Arne Engles, hit in the eye area with a coin.
The Celtic staff member, head burst with a glass bottle.
The latest incident with a Celtic staff member being assaulted.
Even during a womens derby game, an Ibrox coach headbutted a Celtic staff member.
I’m sure there’s plenty more that others could recall.
The common denominator- they can’t take being beaten. The Ibrox board are reaping what they’ve sown. They pandered to the same pricks who ran onto the park and are now in this position through being weak in dealing with their previous unsavoury behaviour. Personally, i hope the cowards on our board ban them for good and stick up for the fans though thats unlikely.
Paula, I was at the game and the atmosphere in the Celtic end was brilliant from start to finish. I was halfway up the Broomloan and had a really good view of everything that happened it was almost like a carnival atmosphere the Celtic supporters were in fine voice and the craic was brilliant. When big Tam’s penalty hit the back of the net it was pure unadulterated joy and excitement from our support, what followed was the home support running from the Copland Road end and the two other sides looking for trouble. Grown men in gimp suits with flares and other weapons like bottles attacked our supporters and this isn’t the first time it’s happened at the Bigotdome. Again a member of our coaching staff was attacked hit with a bottle it looked like, a guy tried to kick Araujo while another was trying to get to him as well and it’s getting to the stage where a player’s going to get killed on the pitch because these arseholes can’t take defeat. I know that it’s against the law for fans to enter the field of play but after winning a game we had no right to win our fans did so in a celebratory way, they were taking selfies with the players and not a single one was looking to cause trouble. Football is an emotional sport and the feelings were of elation that was the context of our supporters on the day, pure unadulterated joy, contrast that to what the huns were up to they just couldn’t handle us celebrating on their patch and they wanted to hurt Celtic supporters there’s no doubt in my mind of that. They’ve got previous for that as well look at the amount of times they’ve wreaked havoc when things don’t go their way look at Manchester in 2008 when they wrecked the city and injured over thirty police officers and the reports that the city hadn’t seen anything like it since the blitz in world war two was enough said right there. Everybody in Scotland knows who’s responsible for the trouble caused in the game as a whole and until the Ibrox club gets called out by the football authorities, the government and the judiciary then nothing will change or as I alluded to earlier a player is murdered because the reprobates can’t take defeat in a game of football. McCoist’s on talksport this morning blaming the Celtic supporters when nothing could be further from the truth, STV put a piece on air of ripped out seats but the pictures show it’s from the Copland Road stand, that’s home supporters damaging their own stadium, that all points to how deranged their support is. I’m not going back there again it had the potential of replicating the scenes of the 1980 Scottish Cup final at Hampden, which I was also at as a fifteen year old boy, and that again was because their support couldn’t take defeat. On Sunday the police and the stewards should’ve had cordons all around the pitch at the end and their failure to do so didn’t help matters. When they scored with Fernandez, who used just the two hands to put the ball in the net, there supporters came onto the pitch so the police could’ve and should’ve anticipated that this could occur again no matter who won. This two sides of the same coin argument that we always hear is not just ridiculous it’s totally unjustified, our supporters can go anywhere in Europe and be welcomed, the same can’t be said for the Ibrox club and that’s the big difference between the two sets of supporters. I was an advocate to get back to the old allocation for both sides but after Sunday I won’t go back there and I don’t want them anywhere near our ground ever again.
Looks like life will be easier for all with no away fans going forward…
The invisible man (Maxwell) will need to change his competition’s supporters constitution though…
Sly Sky will be greetin about that though…
The Polis will absolutely not be…
Celtic should take the lead here and Polieas Alba would happily back them !