Tonight Celtic have issued a statement as an independent SFA inquiry is set to get underway after the trouble at Ibrox on Sunday when Celtic knocked Rangers out of the Scottish Cup.
Interim chairman Brian Wilson has addressed the aftermath from Sunday’s Scottish Cup win at Ibrox, with the Scottish FA confirming that its Compliance Officer is gathering evidence from the derby and that an independent review of the matchday safety and security operation will now be commissioned.
Wilson’s most notable comments centred on the immediate aftermath of Celtic’s penalty shootout victory, and on what he believes has become a misrepresented public interpretation of the scenes.
He said: “Probably the highest profile aspect of this was after the penalty went in and Celtic had won and what you had there was a euphoric response from our supporters.”
Wilson was clearly trying to distinguish jubilation from anything more sinister. He added: “It’s not uncommon. In fact, it’s happened on quite numerous occasions this season alone in Scottish football where you have an overspill onto the pitch and that in itself does not normally draw expressions of condemnation.”
That is the core of Celtic’s position here. Wilson is not arguing that supporters entering the field is acceptable. He is arguing the context, and that not every pitch spill should be casually placed into the same category.
His strongest warning came when he urged people to wait for evidence before drawing sweeping conclusions.
“Therefore what I would say about that is that I welcome the SFA’s intention to have a full enquiry, so let’s look at the evidence,” Wilson said. “If there’s evidence of violence, if there’s evidence of threats of violence, then of course I’ll condemn that, but let’s look at the evidence before we create maybe a false narrative.”
This is clearly taking aim at the “both sides” are as bad as each other debate that the Scottish media like to participate in. Wilson’s comments clearly make the case for the Celtic fans jubilation and his call for fact based evidence that Celtic fans were on the pitch for anything other than sheer joy. Things became sinister only when Rangers fans decided to take to the pitch in anger.
Wilson also pushed back on the idea that public condemnation alone solves anything. “If this could be resolved by statements of condemnation, it would have been resolved decades ago and really it’s actions that matter,” he said, taking aim at Police Scotland.
With the Scottish FA now moving into the next stage, this story is no longer just about noise and accusation. The governing body has confirmed a formal evidence-gathering process and an independent review into what happened around one of the biggest games in the Scottish calendar.
You can read the full statement on the Celtic website. You can also watch Brian Wilson’s interview on the club’s official YouTube channel, which also touches on the Green Brigade situation.
