In terms of intensity and enmity, there aren’t many rivalries that come close to the Old Firm derby.
Contested between historical rivals Rangers and Celtic, the matchup isn’t just a clash between two Scottish heavyweights, as it represents a more overarching conflict of ideas, political identities and religious beliefs.
With so many personal elements attached to a game of football, there’s bound to be a bit of animosity, and over the years, we’ve seen some truly feisty Old Firm derbies.
The latest encounter between the two sides certainly lived up to the billing in terms of the scrappiness, it also provided for some controversy through the water bottle incident surrounding Reo Hatate and Todd Cantwell.
The ugliness behind Old Firm also reared its head during Sunday’s game, through an abhorrent flag displaying fascist symbols, one that was put up by the Rangers home support.
Besides all this, tempers between both sets of fans flared throughout the 90 minutes, and ultimately, it was The Celts who had the last laugh.
The Bhoys ended up winning the Scottish Cup semi-final 1-0 on Rangers turf, which further added to their dominance in Scottish Football this season.
The tightly-contested game saw its first goal in the 42nd minute, courtesy of a close-range header from Jota.
Celtic managed to hang on to their lead for the rest of the game, securing a final against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the process.
With bragging rights firmly in their hands, the Green Army opted to rub salt in the wounds of the home support after full-time. And they did so by whipping out an old-fashioned jab directed towards the political views of The Gers.
For the uninitiated, the two fan bases are usually at a crossroads on numerous topics
Examples include the pro-British views of the Rangers faithful, as opposed to Celtic fans, who mostly align with the Irish tricolour.
Given Ireland’s turbulent history with the English monarchy, it’s safe to say that The Celts aren’t fond of the age-old system, and they made sure to express their dislike in the faces of Rangers fans, who are known to be pro-monarchy.
Having one-upped The Light Blues for the billionth time this season, Celtic fans went on to pile upon their misery by singing a brutal anti-monarchy chant at Ibrox.
With the home support diminished following an upsetting defeat, the Green Army sang ‘You can shove your coronation up your a#se’ in full voice.
Referencing the upcoming coronation ceremony of King Charles III, the chant did its job of adding insult to injury.
It echoed loudly throughout the stadium, which made for an undoubtedly painful sight for any Rangers fan.
Alternatively, it also summed up the state of Scottish Football and Celtic’s sheer dominance.
