Celtic's Behaviour Warning Ahead of Rangers Derby
Martin O’Neill has revealed Celtic were issued with a “general behaviour” warning by Police Scotland ahead of Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup quarter-final against Rangers at Ibrox – a derby that will be played without a single away supporter in the ground.
The 50,000-capacity stadium will be entirely populated by Rangers fans after the authorities stepped in amid the ongoing ticket allocation row between the Glasgow rivals. The dispute has been simmering for years, but the last Old Firm clash in Govan in March poured fuel on it, with disorder in the stands overshadowing Celtic’s Scottish Gas Scottish Cup quarter-final win on penalties after 120 goalless minutes.
That bad-tempered afternoon has had real consequences. Both clubs must play their next home Scottish Cup ties behind closed doors and have been hit with a £100,000 compensation bill, payable to whichever side is drawn away in those fixtures. The punishment hangs over this latest meeting like a warning flare.
Against that backdrop, O’Neill and his players sat down with the police this week.
“We had the police come in today, just a little 15 minute meeting with us, just reminders of our behaviour, which I think is actually a timely reminder. It a good thing as well,” the 74-year-old said, stressing that the message went beyond simple box-ticking.
“I think it’s the overall picture. Gosh, it’d be nice to have something to celebrate. I think it’s just general behaviour from us.”
The instruction was clear: keep a lid on it. On the pitch as much as off it.
“They didn’t mention this but I would have assumed that one of the things that they considered is what happens on the field of play, because these things can be taken further,” O’Neill explained. “You don’t want any sort of punch-ups for a start; secondly, you don’t want too excessive celebrations, stuff like that, if that was the case.
“I mean, I’d be delighted to be celebrating something in the game. But it’s the behaviour in the light of what has happened in recent fixtures.”
No away end, no familiar roar, no explosion of green and white if Celtic score. O’Neill knows how odd that will feel.
He admitted it “will be a bit strange not having the (Celtic) fans in” but spoke of being “nervously and excitedly” ready for the challenge, calling it “a great fixture” even in such a stripped-back form.
Goalkeeping Dilemma
On the football side, the Celtic manager still has a major call to make in goal.
Mika Baur, who missed training on Friday with a knock, will return to the session on Saturday and is expected to be available. The real dilemma lies between the posts, where late summer signing Sam Johnstone is pushing hard to keep his place ahead of Viljami Sinisalo.
Johnstone, the experienced England international on loan from EFL Championship side Wolves, made his Hoops debut in Wednesday’s 1-0 William Hill Premiership win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park. It was a controlled, professional first outing, but O’Neill is not yet ready to nail his colours to either mast.
“I haven’t made my mind up at all. It was a matter of getting a look at what Sam can do,” he said. “It’s great to have the two of them. Big Viljami has done exceptionally well for us and it was just, again, an opportunity to see what Sam can do now.
“What he could do a couple of years ago was fantastic, what he can do now might be a totally different picture. I will let them know first.”
So the build-up to one of world football’s most fevered fixtures comes with a curious twist: a silent away end, a dressing room reminded to celebrate with restraint, and a manager still weighing up who will stand in front of the Ibrox crowd.
The noise will come from one side only. How Celtic handle that, and who O’Neill trusts in goal to face it, will shape far more than just a cup tie.
