As the conversation continues to rage over the Partick Thistle Malik Tillman incident, a clip of Celtic unsportingly failing to return the ball v Rangers has fans raising an eyebrow.
The decision to allow Scott Tiffoney to score at Ibrox after Malik Tillman had nicked the ball from Kevin Holt – who was set to return it to Rangers – has since gone viral in football circles.
It’s also sparked a lot of debates about sportsmanship and the justification for doing so, with plenty of Rangers fans still scorned and not in agreement that it was the right thing to do.
A feeling that Partick Thistle would’ve never returned the favour for Rangers, along with the perception of the Ibrox side as a soft touch and simmering discontent about the events of 2012, has plenty still unhappy about the decision.
Now, a clip of Celtic unsportingly returning the ball after Rangers cleared it out due to injury has gone viral online as fans highlight that the Ibrox side won’t always get the same courtesy.
This was in the final minute of the 1-0 Ibrox win over Celtic in August 2021.
But whilst this clip does highlight Celtic aren’t quite as classy as Rangers, it’s hard to argue that the Ibrox support would be against their team doing the same if the roles were reversed.
Celtic clip sparks Rangers debate
Rangers boss Michael Beale has been lauded for the sportsmanship but stressed post-match the decision was about protecting Malik Tillman from accusations of cheating.
It was a brave decision from Beale; had Rangers crashed out of the Scottish Cup to Partick Thistle it would’ve been a major black mark on his early Ibrox copy sheet that he might never have recovered from.
As it so happens Rangers would go on to win the game 3-2 and any blushes were spared but it has sparked a debate about the Ibrox side’s ruthlessness against the perception of standard setting.
At a deeper level, Rangers fans have not had enough success in the last decade, and aren’t given that respect enough by our rivals, to justify any quarter being given in Scottish football.
The only standard that matters at Rangers is winning football matches and trophies and until that is happening on a regular basis, and more-so than our rivals, there’s certainly an argument that Beale should park that talk at the door.
Meanwhile, Malik Tillman continues to emerge as the main man at Rangers.
