NafisaDerek McInnes got exactly the response he would have wanted from his Rangers players at Celtic Park.
His side dug in, absorbed the pressure and came away from the home of their biggest rivals with another enormous Old Firm victory, beating Celtic 1-0 through Ryan Naderi’s first-half strike.
It was Rangers’ second victory over Celtic in the space of just eight days.
But while McInnes will have been delighted with what his players produced on the pitch, the Rangers manager may have created an entirely different problem for himself on the touchline.
Because just four minutes into one of the biggest matches of the season, the Rangers boss found himself involved in a furious confrontation.
And with the Scottish FA already having punished him once this season, there is now a potentially serious disciplinary question hanging over his head.
The incident that could land McInnes in trouble
The flashpoint came almost immediately after Emmanuel Fernandez was booked for bringing down Celtic’s Camilo Duran as the forward attempted to break away.
VAR checked the incident, with the challenge ultimately remaining a yellow-card offence rather than being upgraded.
McInnes was clearly unhappy with what he had seen.
The Rangers manager became involved in an animated exchange around the touchline, with the confrontation eventually involving Celtic first-team coach Mark Fotheringham.
Martin O’Neill intervened as tempers flared, while referee John Beaton eventually showed yellow cards to McInnes and Fotheringham.
The Guardian’s live report recorded McInnes and O’Neill becoming involved in the confrontation, while the Scottish Sun reported that McInnes and Fotheringham squared up during the incident.
The fact McInnes was booked means he has already received an on-the-day disciplinary punishment.
However, that does not automatically mean he will now serve a touchline suspension.
The bigger concern for Rangers is whether the Scottish FA decides the incident warrants a separate disciplinary investigation.
And that is where McInnes’ recent history suddenly becomes very relevant.
McInnes already has a suspended punishment hanging over him
This is not the first time the Rangers manager has found himself in the Scottish FA’s disciplinary spotlight.
Earlier this summer, McInnes was handed a four-match suspension over comments he made following Hearts’ match against Motherwell while he was still in charge at Tynecastle.
That case was brought under Disciplinary Rule 72, which deals with criticism of match officials that indicates bias or incompetence, or remarks that impinge on an official’s character.
McInnes had initially been given three immediate matches and one suspended match.
Following Rangers’ appeal, the sanction was changed.
He now has two matches served immediately and two matches suspended, with the suspended portion applicable if he commits another breach of Rule 72 during the specified period.
That is the detail that makes Sunday’s incident particularly interesting.
McInnes is not starting from a completely clean disciplinary slate.
There is already a suspended sanction attached to his name.
However, there is an important distinction.
The previous punishment was specifically connected to Rule 72 and his criticism of match officials. The Parkhead incident, based on what has been reported so far, was a heated touchline confrontation following Fernandez’s booking.
So it would be wrong to claim that his two suspended matches have automatically been activated.
They have not.
But another SFA punishment could still be coming
The question now is whether the Scottish FA believes McInnes’ behaviour at Parkhead warrants further action beyond the yellow card he received during the match.
The SFA’s disciplinary system allows matters to be brought forward through its formal process, and its published rules make clear that disciplinary cases can arise where conduct falls within the relevant offences.
That means the next development could be crucial.
If the incident is simply treated as an on-field booking, McInnes will not suddenly be serving a new suspension because of the confrontation.
But if the authorities review the footage, receive a report or otherwise decide that his conduct warrants a separate charge, he could find himself facing another disciplinary process.
And because he already has a suspended sanction, Rangers will be watching the wording of any potential charge extremely closely.
Most importantly, a new touchline offence is not automatically a new Rule 72 offence.
That distinction matters.
For the two suspended matches to be triggered under the terms of McInnes’ existing punishment, the Scottish FA’s published ruling specifically says that he would have to further breach Disciplinary Rule 72.
So the potential punishment cannot honestly be presented as a guaranteed four-, six- or eight-match ban at this stage.
What can be said is that McInnes has now given the authorities another incident to consider — and he already knows exactly how seriously the Scottish FA can treat disciplinary matters involving him.
Rangers have bigger reasons to worry about the timing
The timing could hardly be more dramatic.
McInnes had spent the build-up to the second Old Firm meeting warning his Rangers players about complacency and demanding the aggression and energy needed to compete with Celtic.
They delivered.
After winning 3-0 at Ibrox in the League Cup eight days earlier, Rangers returned to Parkhead and produced another victory, with Naderi’s 33rd-minute goal separating the sides.
Celtic were unable to find an equaliser, giving Rangers another major psychological boost and leaving the hosts just two points ahead of their rivals at the top of the Premiership.
But the man at the centre of Rangers’ revival could now have to wait nervously to discover whether the Scottish FA has anything more to say about his touchline behaviour.
For McInnes, there is an obvious irony.
His team played with precisely the aggression and intensity he had demanded.
Yet the same combustible atmosphere that makes an Old Firm derby so difficult to control has now potentially left the Rangers manager facing another disciplinary headache.
There is no confirmed new suspension from the Scottish FA at the time of writing.
But if the incident is formally charged, McInnes’ existing disciplinary record means it will be impossible to treat the case as though he were starting from scratch.
And that is the real danger for Rangers.
Their manager walked out of Parkhead with another Old Firm victory.
He could yet walk into the next Scottish FA disciplinary hearing with his own suspension hanging over him.
Nafisa
