Rangers celebrations after Dortmund result had surprise participant
The atmosphere at Ibrox after Rangers had knocked Borussia Dortmund out of Europe saw one steward “clock off” to join in reports The Athletic.
An electric night in Glasgow witnessed a James Tavernier double secure a 2-2 draw with the Europa League favourites to complete a famous 6-4 aggregate win.
The stadium was jubilant following the final whistle as packed stands celebrated one of the greatest European nights in the clubs history, and it appears it was too good to miss for one member of the security staff.
The Athletic’s Jordan Campbell writes: “As Ibrox erupted at full-time and the players soaked up a heroic reception, kids ran on looking for shirts as mementoes and a steward even clocked off and removed their hi-vis bib to join in the celebrations.”
Night for the ages
Leaving aside the professionalism complaints and the potential for safety issues it is not hard to see what happened.
The result and the occasion were significant for the club in any context, but other factors from recent history heightened things even further.
Gers were liquidated just a decade ago and spent multiple seasons climbing the lower leagues to reach this point.
The title victory under Steven Gerrard was the culmination of a long rebuilding process to overhaul Celtic and reach the top of Scottish football.
But the success was secured during the restricted and uncertain period of Covid-19 lockdowns and empty stadiums which tempered celebrations slightly.
Thursday night was arguably the biggest opportunity since the club returned to the top table for the supporters to truly revel in what has been achieved in recent years.
The memories will last forever for fans wherever they were watching but it was particularly special inside Ibrox.
Ally McCoist relayed how the “magical” night represented what being a football fan is all about as his son declared he would “never forget” the game.
Attention must turn to the SPFL title race now, but however the season finishes fans and players will always have the Dortmund.
In other Rangers news, there was one unfortunate Light Blue who did not come out of Thursday night a winner.