Scott Brown goes two footed on 'embarrassing' Rangers vs Celtic scenes as he spots ugly havoc nobody wants to see
The crowd trouble at Ibrox began in the immediate aftermath of Celtic's penalty shoot-out win over Rangers in the Scottish Cup.
Scott Brown has slammed the fan mayhem that broke out at the end of Sunday’s engrossing Old Firm clash between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox - insisting it paints Scottish football in a very negative light.
The iconic former Hoops skipper has branded the full episode that was viewed by millions of people across the world “embarrassing” as chaotic scenes erupted in the immediate aftermath of Celtic’s 4-2 Scottish Cup penalty shoot-out victory.
Rangers duo James Tavernier and Djeidi Gassama missed two spot-kick’s in sudden death before Tomas Cvancara converted the decisive one to send Martin O’Neill’s side into the semi-finals of the competition.
The fixture came just a week on from a pulsating 2-2 draw in the Scottish Premiership at the same venue. This proved to be a more attritional contest and neither side could be separated after 120 minutes, despite the hosts dominating for large spells.
Amid wild celebrations from the 7,500 Celtic fans housed in the Broomloan Road Stand, supporters began spilling onto the pitch as they goaded their rivals, prompting an angry response from Gers supporters at the opposite end of the stadium.
Within less than 30 seconds, thousands of fans had swarmed onto the playing surface and things started to turn ugly when pyrotechnics were thrown in either direction as police and stewards formed a barricade to avoid letting the situation spill out of control.
Ugly Ibrox fan disorder branded a dreadful advert for Scottish football
Shocking video footage has surfaced on social media overnight of a police officer being deliberately tripped over, while a rammy broke out in the tunnel area in addition to fans allegedly attacking each other outside the ground.
Celtic shoot-out hero Cvancara conducted a post-match TV interview with blood stains on his shirt, with Police Scotland later confirming arrests had been made and several fans left injured.
And Celtic legend Brown - now manager of Championship side Ayr United - believes the shameful post-match scenes are a dreadful advert for the Scottish game with millions of eyes on the encounter due to its magnitude.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Brown stated: “It’s embarrassing for telly and the viewers as well. I’m sure Celtic and Rangers don’t want that to happen either.
“It was a fantastic atmosphere at the game, you’ve got over 7,500 Celtic fans for the first time in about 10 years, which is incredible that we’re able to get back to that. But those days of running on the park, fighting, scrapping – for 90 minutes, shout, swear and say what you want to the lads on the park but after that it’s done and dusted.
“It is ugly for Scottish football, we never want that to happen, we want it to be a good showcase, a lot of people in England are watching that. The way they look at us and that’s what they remember.
“Everyone knows the passion is unbelievable, the environment is great but that part of the scene – it’s a selected part of the crowd – always want to spoil it for everyone else.”