Postecoglou left ‘disappointed’ by glass on pitch
Rival managers Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Ange Postecoglou both expressed dismay at the second half of the Old Firm match at Ibrox being delayed after a bottle was thrown into the penalty area in front of the Copland Road Stand.
Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart raised the alarm when he took to the pitch and spotted shards of broken glass in his goalmouth. Members of the Rangers groundstaff came out to clear the area as the players of both teams waited on the pitch for several minutesbefore referee willie coll um could restart the game.
“It is disappointing,” said Celtic manager Posteocglou who saw his team come from behind to win 2-1 and extend their lead at the top of the premier ship table to six points with six games remaining.
"I thought it was a proper derby, the atmosphere was unbelievable, both teams were up for it, both teams were going for it.
"You don’t need it. I don’t know what people are trying to achieve by doing that.
"I thought it was a fantastic spectacle. Sitting here as the winning coach kind of taints my view of it, but I thought anybody watching would agree it was a good game and you could tell there was somethingmeaningful at the end of it by the way both sets of players went at it.
"Like I said their crowd was up for it, our 700 was up for it and couldn’t stop singing. That is what you want.”
Van Bronckhorst was also left disappointed and frustrated by the senseless action which held up his team’s efforts to salvage the match.
“Of course it’s not what you want, “he said. “You go out of the locker room and are preparing well for the second half, you want togo. then you have to wait.
“It’s never good that due to situations the game has to be stopped. Safety is first and I understand we have to wait for the pitch to be playable.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We are aware of a glass bottle being thrown on the pitch atibrox stadium, Glasgow during the rangers v Celtic match on sunday, april 3,2022. Enquiries are to establish the full circumstances.”
A couple of hours after the full-time whistle, Celtic then released a statement of thir own, saying a member of Postecoglou’s backroom staff needed“urgent medical treatment” after being struck by a bottle.
The incident is understood to have happened as the celtic players and staff were making their way up the tunnel for the half-time interval after goals from Tom Rogic and Cameron Carter-vickers had overturned Aaron Ramsey’s early strike for Rangers.
The Celtic employee, who has not been named, needed stitches and the matter has been referred to police.
“We can confirm a member of our backroom staff was struck by a glass bottle,” said a Celtic spokesman. “He required urgent medical treatment and stitches to a head wound. The matter is now in the hands of Police Scotland.”
Rangers fans also hired a plane to be flown over Ibrox aroundthe20th-minutemark with a message of support for Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his players.
A light aircraft went over the stadium in Govan at least five times pulling a banner that read: “Bring home 56 GVB WATP”. The message made reference to Rangers going for their 56th title.