Rangers conspiracy theories go into overdrive as SFA announcement made v Celtic
Kevin Clancy has been named as the man who will take charge of Saturday’s Old Firm Derby clash between Celtic and Rangers at Parkhead.
The Scottish official has caused a stir amongst Rangers’ fans after a number of perplexing decisions in the past. In fact, Michael Beale is no stranger to the 39-year-old. The Light Blues boss had a run-in with the official back in 2020 during Rangers’ 2-1 win at Celtic Park.
Beale reportedly accused Clancy of cheating which resulted in a five-game ban for the assistant manager (Scottish Sun, 9 February).
Furthermore, Clancy also caused a stir when he claimed that Scottish referees were aware of what was “at stake” ahead of Celtic’s failed ten-in-a-row attempt back in 2020 (The Herald, 28 July 2020).
Clancy was confirmed as the official for Saturday’s clash (8 April) on Tuesday and the news hasn’t been fondly received by Rangers’ fans.
Rangers’ official partner, The Heart and Hand Podcast, was less than impressed with the appointment of the 39-year-old and even suggested (via Twitter, 4 April) that Clancy was indeed a Celtic fan.
There will be conspiracy theories banded about from now until Saturday, but here are the facts. Rangers have won the three previous Old Firm fixtures that Clancy has taken charge of, with two of them coming away from Ibrox.
If the official is a Celtic fan who is trying to give a competitive advantage to The Hoops, he’s doing a really bad job at it.
As for Beale’s side, the importance of this fixture cannot be understated, anything but a win will see Celtic almost certainly cruise towards another league title.
In other Rangers news, the club have received a definite answer as midfielder transfer news has emerged.