SCOTTISH CUP A TRIP DOWN MEMORY SHAME
Ex-Ger Foster on his ‘craziest night’ as bedlam reigned when Old Firm last met at this stage
FIVE red cards, the famous Neil Lennon and Ally McCoist confrontation, police outrage and a government summit.
That’s what happened the last time Rangers and Celtic locked horns in the last 16 of the Scottish Cup.
Richard Foster was at the heart of the bedlam a decade ago.
And while he reckons this Sunday will be tasty, the 35-yearold is predicting a quiet and efficient Rangers win to set his former side up for the Double and destroy Celtic’s season.
Foster, who was on loan at Ibrox from Aberdeen in 2011, reckons much of the blame for the explosive nature of the Wednesday night replay rests at the door of referee Calum Murray.
But the defender still can’t believe the Scottish Government got involved as an emergency summit was called.
He said: “That was the craziest night I’ve ever been involved in, without a shadow of a doubt.
“But the reaction from the Government and the authorities was over the top.
“Because it’s the two big teams in Scotland and there is so much focus on the game, we do tend to overreact when things happen.
“But people have to realise it’s an emotive game and the reality is the Old Firm match is probably the most emotive in world football.
“Glasgow is a goldfish bowl. Everything is under the microscope – so much rides on these games.
“The referee could have dealt with the game better.
“You can’t really say he caused all the mayhem at the end but he could have made sure it didn’t become such a powderkeg.”
The teams had clashed first at Ibrox when Celtic had keeper Fraser Forster sent off and Steven Whittaker buried a penalty to put Rangers 2-1 up against 10 men.
But Scott Brown scored a superb equaliser and then goaded El Hadji Diouf, who had previous
with the Celtic fans after a disgraceful spitting incident when he was at Liverpool. He was to be at the centre of the red-hot replay, which saw three more dismissals, including his.
On the first game, Foster said: “I was watching from the stand that day and we had chances to kill the game but didn’t take them.
“To be fair to Brown, it was a great finish that earned Celtic a draw.
“Normally you wouldn’t worry about him shooting from there but he found the top corner.
“Then Stevie Naismith was
sent off for diving, so that ruled him out of the replay.
“I came in at right-back and Whittaker played at right midfield but he was sent off not long after the half-hour mark.
“That was the key moment of the game because the referee set the tone when he didn’t need to.
“The problem was Calum Murray had booked Whitts when he shouldn’t have.
“Ki Sung Yueng basically knocked the ball past him one way and went the other – Steven couldn’t get out the way.
“The second challenge was certainly a booking – it was a silly tackle. But because the ref had already shown a yellow, he had to go off. That made my life a lot more difficult!
“I was up against Emilio Izaguirre and Kris Commons, who were on the left side for Celtic.
“At that time Izaguirre was flying. I think he had three lungs. He was the fittest guy in Scotland, it seemed.”
Mark Wilson settled the tie with the scrappiest of winners three minutes after the break.
But few folks remember it as tensions boiled over with Diouf scrapping with the Celtic bench and Madjid Bougherra sent off before Lennon and McCoist went at it on the touchline.
Foster, now playing in League One with Partick Thistle, said: “To
this day I don’t know what McCoist said to Lennon but I would still love to find out.
“It was sheer frustration at the end because we were out of the Cup. Listen, it wasn’t great with big Madjid grabbing hold of the referee.
“Looking back at the pictures, I’m at the forefront of most of what’s going on. I’m beside Madjid when he’s pinning the ref ’s arms to his side, so I always seem to be there in these situations.
“Then Diouf was sent off for getting involved with the referee.
“I don’t have a great Old Firm record. I lost three that season.
“We did win the league, so that more than makes up for it. But in a way I’m glad I was involved that night.
“If Rangers win on Sunday, it ends Celtic’s season as they continue to look for a new manager. But if Celtic win, it rejuvenates them and makes them favourites for the Cup. There is so much riding on it.
“Celtic have hit a bit of form but it’s difficult to see past Rangers. Celtic played well in the last game but still couldn’t win it. Rangers are the best team in the league this season. They seem to have the edge over Celtic and if they perform to the levels they have done this season, they’ll come out on top.”