Tom Olver
Published March 8, 2026 5:00pm
Updated March 8, 2026 7:00pm
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Fans of Celtic and Rangers stormed the pitch after the Old Firm derby (Picture: Getty)
Martin O’Neill has confirmed that all of his Celtic players emerged unscathed after ugly post-match scenes marred the side’s Scottish Cup quarter-final victory over bitter rivals Rangers.
There was an immediate pitch invasion from ecstatic Celtic supporters as Tomas Cvancara converted the decisive spot-kick to secure the Bhoys a 4-2 win in a nail-biting penalty shootout at Ibrox.
But the situation rapidly took a sinister turn as Rangers fans – many hiding their identities with masks and balaclavas – joined their rival supporters on the pitch, with police forced to form a makeshift barricade.
Celtic manager O’Neill was pictured trying to calm his players as the disturbance threatened to descend into all-out chaos, before quickly making his way off the field to safety.
There had also been trouble before kick-off, with scores of Rangers fans filmed violently clashing with stewards while storming the gates to break into the stadium.
An official statement from the Scottish FA condemned the unsavoury scenes and confirmed that an investigation was underway.
‘The Scottish FA condemns the behaviour from supporters entering the field of play following today’s Scottish Gas Scottish Cup Quarter-Final at Ibrox Stadium,’ the statement read.
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‘An investigation will be carried out immediately in line with the Judicial Panel Protocol.’
Celtic defeated their arch-rivals to advance through to the semi-finals (Picture: Getty)
O’Neill was caught up in the ugly post-match scenes (Picture: Getty)
Asked if his players got away unharmed at his post-match press conference, O’Neill told reporters: ‘Yes. It looked as if there was a few tete-a-tetes as much as anything else. That is unfortunate.
‘But hopefully it does not dilute the performance in terms of character and all the things that we had.
‘It was our fourth game in ten days and we were really out on our feet, but we defended magnificently.
‘The boys were throwing their bodies on the line. I have the utmost regard for the team.’
"It is an ugly, ugly end to what has been a superb game of football"Chaos breaks out on the pitch at Ibrox as both sets of fans end up on the pitch following Celtic's penalty shootout win over Rangers pic.twitter.com/m8cmSHEkGM
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) March 8, 2026
Cvancara scored the winning penalty for the visitors (Picture: Getty)
Pressed on whether the behaviour of supporters may become the main story, he added: ‘That may well be. I need to have a think about it.
‘Really, at the end of the day, Old Firm games are explosive.
‘They have always been and maybe that is one of the reasons that the derby is one of the best in the world.’
The match marked the first time that Celtic fans had been given the full Broomloan Stand allocation at Ibrox since being reduced to fewer than 1,000 in 2018.
Celtic fans storm the gates at Ibrox ahead of the game against Rangers today… 😳🤯 pic.twitter.com/83p0QbZH2W
— Football Away Days (@FBAwayDays) March 8, 2026
Asked if the post-match scenes could see a U-turn on this decision, O’Neill replied: ‘I would certainly hope not.
‘It was only a cup game for a start, so I do not know what the SPFL will be thinking about at the end of it all.
‘You are asking me a lot of political questions here at this moment when I am in a euphoric state.’
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The ex-Aston Villa and Republic of Ireland boss went on: ‘The fans spilled over, big scenes there at the end and scenes all over the place. It is not me diminishing it at all.
‘I will have a think about it and speak to you in due course.
‘At this minute, we have won the game, although you would hardly tell by my face. It was a long afternoon.
‘In all honesty, the crowd kept us going during the course of the afternoon as they have done in previous times.’
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