Q: Just on the allocation, Martin, you’ve mentioned in previous statements that you’d wanted to see this sort of allocation. Is there worry that what happens today might mean that that’s the end?
Martin O’Neill: “No, that’s not for me to make a judgment. Certainly not only 20 minutes after the game is over. So I don’t know that. If it is, if that’s the case, that’s a concern.”
Q: In general, considering the tension around this game and the fact that there were so many more Celtic fans than previously, was there any discussion between yourself and the security staff about removing the players? Because the players were on for a long, long time?
Martin O’Neill: “Well, no, I don’t think there was any. The security men, in fairness to them, were wanting to get people off. But there is a natural euphoria about winning a game and about fans joining in. If this has gone too far, that would be disappointing.”
Celtic fansl at the Scottish Cup quarter final on Sunday 8 March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou
Q: The derby has always had a certain level of spite about it. In the time you’ve been away, do you get a sense of the animosity or the atmosphere within it has grown in any way?
Martin O’Neill: “I don’t know whether it’s grown. It hasn’t lessened. Anyway, let me put it this way. And if any of us ever come down to this earth in 500 years, it will be exactly the same. Exactly the same.”
Q: Did your players say anything about it in the dressing room afterwards?
Martin O’Neill: “No, no. I just said well done to the team and I went into my own little room to cool down myself. My heart’s beating at a rate that a 74-year-old’s shouldn’t be doing. I didn’t hear them saying, but we’ll certainly have a chat about it.”
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
