Scotland’s Shame and mainstream media playing usual blame game

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The Celtic Star

·9 March 2026

Scotland’s Shame and mainstream media playing usual blame game

I would love to be writing solely on Celtic’s fantastic win on penalties that has led us into yet another Scottish Cup semi final at the expense of our biggest rivals the Rangers, but there is something more important that has to be discussed first…

Scotland’s Shame – theRangers fans attacking the Celtic support at Ibrox after Celtic won the Scottish Cup quarter final on Sunday 8 March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

The win at Ibrox was momentous and I will definitely get around to doing another article about that later but there is a story that takes priority today which needs our full focus and that’s the abhorrent behaviour of the Rangers fans and the absolutely fictitious narrative being spread in the mainstream media.

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When Tomas Cvancara netted Celtic’s fourth penalty to win the quarter final the majority of Celtic fans, whether they be at Ibrox, in the bar, at home with friends and family or enjoying it anywhere else in the world would have reacted the same way, with unbridled joy at seeing Celtic secure their passage to the next round after an absolutely gruelling 120 minutes full of twists and turns.

Celtic supporters in the Free Broomloan. Scottish Cup quarter final on Sunday 8 March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

The match wasn’t high on quality but what it lacked in that department it certainly made up for in passion and desire.

When a game of such importance ends like that there is always going to be an outpouring of emotion, and in the Free Broomloan stand there was the almost predictable outpouring of some Celtic fans onto the pitch, fans who were desperate to celebrate a huge win with their heroes.

Is it acceptable for fans to enter the pitch at anytime? No it’s not but let’s be honest, we see it multiple times across a season, at a multitude of different grounds, especially in situations like this where it’s a penalty shootout or a late winner.

Celtic celebrations at Ibrox after Celtic won the Scottish Cup quarter final on Sunday 8 March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

We even saw their fans do it after their goal in extra time that ended up being ruled out for blatant hand-ball, so we certainly won’t be lectured about fan etiquette by them.

As the Celtic fans celebrated with the players things took a sinister turn when a large amount of fans of the Rangers, mostly made up of their face covered ultras from the Union Bears, stormed the pitch.

These fans knew what they were up to. They only had one thing on their mind and that was violence. Why else would you be hiding your identity under an array of masks that disguised your appearance? Or do they have another reason for turning up to a football match looking like a Smurf, Superman or a Gimp?

Celtic celebrations at Ibrox after Celtic won the Scottish Cup quarter final on Sunday 8 March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

The Celtic fans that did enter the pitch celebrated wildly with the players but almost all of them stayed within the confines or the 18 yard box, certainly no one strayed beyond the half way line.

When their fans entered the pitch they charged the length of it to confront the Celtic fans. They then proceeded to attack the Celtic fans in the free Broomloan stand with flares and other items. One of their thugs also physically attacked a Celtic staff member with many other Celtic players and staff members being aggressively confronted.

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This was all clear as day for anyone watching. Once again it was the Rangers fans lashing out as they have done on multiple times in the past after a defeat. They couldn’t handle having to watch their biggest rivals celebrate en masse once again in their own stadium. This is how the allocation originally got cut remember. They just cannot fathom watching opposition fans celebrate a win in their own backyard.

The Celtic support at Ibrox after Celtic won the Scottish Cup quarter final on Sunday 8 March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

The disappointing, yet unsurprising, thing about all this is the post game narrative being set in the media. We all knew what the story would be as we watched it unfold in front of us. It would be ‘old firm fans at it again’. They can never outrightly point the finger solely at the Rangers fans, even when the evidence is as clear as the nose on their faces. It’s always a ‘both sides as bad as each other’ portrayal.

That was all on their fans yesterday. Time after time they get away with their hatred and bigotry. The shameful flags and emblems. The horrific songs stating insulting the Pope and bragging about being up to their knees in blood. The disgusting chants about paedophilia that must be harrowing for any football fan watching who has ever been a victim of such depravity. That’s just the bog standard stuff they partake in every time they play Celtic. The media washes over it constantly by praising the ‘atmosphere’, failing to highlight it’s sectarianism and outright hatefulness.

The Celtic support at Ibrox after Celtic won the Scottish Cup quarter final on Sunday 8 March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

Yesterday’s display was a step further. It got physical and added another layer of shame. The media however couldn’t wait to write about how loathsome the biggest rivalry in Scotland is. At no point did they explain it clearly, much easier to just put it down as‘both set of fans are as bad as each other’. There is no doubt that there are some bad eggs in the Celtic support. People who cross the line and deserve to be highlighted and punished according. Personally I despise when people mock the Ibrox disaster. It’s as low as you can go and has no place in football, no matter how big the rivalry.

Today however wasn’t a situation where both fans deserve derision. The Celtic fans celebrated with joy whilst a group of their fans stormed the pitch looking for trouble.

Try telling this to the likes of David Tanner or Tom English. The latters article on the BBC Sport website was despicable. It’s a horrendously inaccurate account of events and should be withdrawn by the BBC immediately.

He blames Celtic getting a larger allocation than what they have been getting in recent years. Our fans celebrating caused it. Yes, their fans threw a flare into the area our fans were based, but there were ‘objects’ coming back the other way. Victim blaming if I’ve ever seen it.

How can a large crowd of fans, storming the pitch in masks and making their way to where the opposition fans are housed whilst throwing flares at them not be story?

Police at the Scottish Cup quarter final on Sunday 8 March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

Or the Celtic players and staff being assaulted not be the headline? No it’s a ‘both as bad as each other’ narrative as usual. Just like it was when a Celtic staff member got glassed at Ibrox. Or when broken glass was put in Joe Hart’s penalty area. Or when glass bottles were thrown into the Celtic fans area? Or the multiple times Celtic players have had objects thrown at them? Nope, it’s always ‘both as bad as each other’.

Celtic should be asking the likes of TalkSport and the BBC to explain themselves and their narratives surrounding the events we witnessed after the game. It’s absolutely amazing that the likes of these broadcasters get asked back time and time again to Celtic Park and Lennoxtown to cover Celtic events after the harm they try to inflict on our club on a regular basis while The Celtic Star and other fan media, who always have Celtic’s best interests at heart, get constantly shunned.