Ally McCoist has condemned the scenes that followed Sunday’s Scottish Cup tie at Ibrox in the strongest possible terms, describing the behaviour of those involved as diabolical and an embarrassment to Scottish football.
The Rangers legend was in attendance with his children and said the atmosphere before and during the match had been genuinely impressive, the kind of occasion the game should celebrate. What followed the final whistle left him furious.
McCoist said he could see what was coming as Celtic supporters began moving toward the front of the Broomloan Stand after the penalty shootout, willing them to stay off the pitch and knowing they would not. When they came over the barriers and onto the playing surface, Rangers supporters responded from the other end, and the scenes that followed were, in his words, a cringe-inducing embarrassment.
Speaking on talkSPORT, he revealed further details that deepened his anger. A young man he spoke to afterward told him that an 18 or 19-year-old girl had been struck by a bottle thrown from the stands, an incident McCoist found deeply troubling. He was also sent images of the Broomloan Stand daubed in graffiti mocking the 66 supporters who lost their lives in the Ibrox disaster of 1971. He described those responsible as driven by pure bitterness and a sickness of the mind.
McCoist was clear that blame lay on both sides and had no interest in excusing either set of supporters involved. His warning was equally direct: the people responsible for Sunday’s scenes have almost certainly ended any prospect of away fans being welcomed back to derby matches at Ibrox for the foreseeable future. The vast majority of supporters on both sides want these occasions to continue, he said, and a small number of idiots have put that at serious risk.