Martin O’Neill played down the post-match handbags confrontation that followed the 2-2 draw between the Ibrox club and Celtic, dismissing the incident as “feeble”…
The 74 year-old was spotted ushering his team away at the final whistle as tempers threatened to flare at Ibrox.
Players from both sides congregated in the centre of the pitch, with heated exchanges taking place and a small amount of pushing and shirt-pulling going on. However, O’Neill insisted the pushing and shoving was nothing, pointing to his previous time in charge of Celtic when clashes between the rivals were far more intense.
Asked about the situation after the draw, O’Neill said: “Well, I was going over to, I mean, me at my age, you know, honestly. But, you know, I’ve managed a team where there was proper having a go.
“This was really, it was feeble! It was really feeble, you know. Honestly, somebody holding somebody else’s shirt. It was feeble, really feeble on both sides, you know.”
“The only reason I went into it was I didn’t, you know, somebody says something out of turn or bites back. I just didn’t want any after match sending offs, you know.”
Callum McGregor was also questioned about the incident on Sky Sports, to which the Celtic skipper responded: “Listen, it is high stakes. Everybody knows what is on the line; it’s livelihoods, people who love the club, so there is emotion in the games, and sometimes it can spill over.”
“It’s fine, you’ve just got to stay calm and stay disciplined and try and keep everybody calm because it is an emotional title race. It’s three teams going for it, four when you bring Motherwell in as well.”
“So you’re going to need discipline, you’re going to need everyone. It’s just about staying calm and trying to execute what we know has brought us success in the past.”
🗣️ “A point’s a good result, it keeps it in our hands”
🗣️ “We were unlucky not to get all of the points in the end”Celtic’s Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney on their draw at Rangers and “an emotional title race” ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/b95a1T1ekG
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) March 1, 2026
Don’t miss Sandman’s Definitive Ratings, from yesterday’s Glasgow Derby at Ibrox, up now on The Celtic Star!
Conor Spence
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There’s no getting away from just how much we let ourselves getting bullied in the first half, especially with the amount of intensity involved.
The scum couldn’t keep up with such intensity in the 2nd half, and our far superior footballing skills took over in the 2nd half.
To such a degree, that we should be making the claims, of actually deserving the victory imo?
As a squad, we haven’t managed the footballing skills and the intensity during matches, very well at all, this season to date.
Yet if we can manage those elements better, and with higher consistency, then nothing to suggest that another double can’t be achieved imo?
Lose or draw sometimes even with a win the Haud me backs come out to play trying to pander to the scum in the stands