The Rangers vs Celtic Glasgow Derby is always played on a knife-edge, but there is a line between passionate support and the prehistoric bile that continues to stain Scottish football, especially at Ibrox.
During today’s Scottish Cup clash, that line wasn’t just crossed; it was obliterated again as Rangers fans spewed out their sectarian bile just before kick-off.
Yet, if you were watching the broadcast on Premier Sports, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were watching coordinated display of anti-Catholic bigotry, rather than a Scottish Cup tie between Celtic and Rangers.
Fans from both sides in the stands, the players take to the pitch, and the atmosphere at Ibrox is electric! 🔥
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) March 8, 2026
Will it be Rangers or Celtic fans celebrating at full time? 👀
Watch live now on Premier Sports 1 📺 pic.twitter.com/ogRZozEXhE
The delusion of the Ibrox atmosphere when Celtic come to town
While thousands of home fans belted out “F*** the Pope” with clear, rhythmic precision, the Premier Sports social media team was busy branding the atmosphere as “electric” on X.
It is a staggering level of editorial blindness. To promote the spectacle while ignoring the actual soundtrack of the stadium isn’t just lazy broadcasting—it’s complicity and Celtic fans are used to it.
Celtic supporters have long grown weary of the both sides narrative, but today’s silence from the commentary booth was particularly deafening.
When a broadcaster chooses to sanitize sectarianism for the sake of selling the product, they insult the intelligence of every viewer at home, especially when the BBC once apologised for a Celtic fan heard swearing on a live broadcast.
The Hate Crime Bill being tested at Rangers vs Celtic
This isn’t just about football rivalry anymore. We are operating in a new legal landscape. With Scotland’s Hate Crime and Public Order Act now in full effect, the threshold for stirring up hatred is under more scrutiny than ever before.
If thousands of people chanting derogatory slurs against a religious group in a public, televised arena doesn’t warrant a mention—or a police investigation—then what exactly is the bill for?
By ignoring the chants, Premier Sports isn’t just failing its subscribers; they are airbrushing a clear societal issue that the Scottish government claims to be tackling head-on.
The fans heard it. The players heard it. We know the SPFL delegates heard it. It’s time the broadcasters stopped hiding behind the volume down button and started calling it what it is: a disgrace to the modern game.
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Celtic fans are debating this right now in The Jungle 🍀
Opinions are split. Some fans see it one way, others see it very differently.
The conversation is already live in The Jungle — the Born Celtic forum where proper football arguments happen without algorithms deciding who gets heard.
It should now be if any sectarian shouts are heard points should be deducted after these games this would stop it .