Rangers supporters once again piled pressure on the club with their conduct during the 1-1 stalemate with Celtic at Ibrox last week.
Not only was a Graeme Souness tifo in the Copland Stand seen as distasteful, but there was also an episode where numerous items were hurled onto the field towards Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo.
The 23-year-old alleges he was “hit by something” as projectiles poured onto the pitch, with Sky Sports’ cameras even showing a glass bottle that had been launched from the crowd.
Rangers boss Barry Ferguson was questioned about Sinisalo’s claims in his press conference ahead of his side’s Scottish Premiership meeting with Aberdeen on Sunday.
However, the Ibrox manager has attracted backlash for his response.
Ferguson accused of dismissive response to Celtic crowd trouble:
Keith Hackett has criticised Ferguson for not reacting more forcefully to such a serious incident at Ibrox.
As quoted by The Herald on 9 May, Ferguson said that Rangers “are going to take action with it because it can harm a player, hurt a player”.
Although such incidents are relatively common in Old Firm clashes, with a similar occurrence at Celtic Park earlier this season, Ferguson made no appeal for it to stop, nor any harsh condemnation. The interim Gers manager appeared rather indifferent in his remarks.
Former Premier League and FIFA-listed official Hackett expressed frustration at Ferguson’s failure to firmly denounce the fans responsible for throwing items onto the field, and also urged the Scottish Football Association to intervene.
“There is a responsibility on the stakeholders in the game to ensure the safety of the players and match officials in our sport,” Hackett told Ibrox News.
“It is not good enough from Barry Ferguson. Frankly, it needed a much stronger approach to this problem.
“Viljami Sinisalo has stated that objects hit him during the game.
“Objects can easily blind or seriously injure someone, and it is unacceptable to just dismiss this problem
“The Scottish FA must take action before it escalates and games are then at risk of being abandoned.
“Protect the players, protect the match officials. Protect the integrity of our great game.“
What’s next for Ferguson at Rangers?
Ferguson’s success rate as the Light Blues’ caretaker manager has been rather dismal.
He’s on a historically poor run without a league victory at Ibrox and has managed just 33.3% wins from the 12 matches he’s led since Philippe Clement was dismissed.
Ferguson still hopes to remain in charge at Rangers and has held discussions with Kevin Thelwell.
However, it seems improbable that anyone aside from Ferguson himself would seriously want that.