Danny Murphy accuses Simon Jordan of Rangers and Celtic U-turn live on air
Rangers will play Celtic for the final time this season on Sunday, as the Gers look to dampen their Old Firm rivals’ title celebrations.
It had been a mixed April for Rangers. The club were knocked out of the Europa League and have had to watch Celtic win the Scottish Premiership for a record 55th time.
However, there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel, with the 49ers closing in on their takeover of Rangers.
With there now being a renewed hope that Rangers overtake Celtic domestically once again, the club go into the last Old Firm derby of the season with optimism.
However, there has been a great deal of debate on whether Rangers should give Celtic a guard of honour before the match, with Danny Murphy and Simon Jordan now weighing in on the situation.
Celtic will not get Ibrox guard of honour
A guard of honour is usually given to the champions of the league if they have won the title before the final day.
However, with Celtic set to play at the Ibrox on Sunday in their first match since they won the title, there is a debate on whether Rangers clapping their fierce rivals onto the pitch would be appropriate.
| Position | Club | Games played | Goal difference | Points |
| 1. | Celtic | 34 | +80 | 84 |
| 2. | Rangers | 34 | +33 | 67 |
Speaking on talkSPORT (30 April), when discussing whether Rangers would give Celtic a guard of honour before the derby, Murphy accused Jordan of U-turning his opinion.
“He’s changed his mind,” Murphy stated live on air.
Jordan then replied: “Well I and have and I haven’t. From the mature man that sits here now and thinks about the reality of upholding the value of the game and making people behave properly across the board, there is merit in it.
“But the reality of it is that it’s a load of old pony.
“It’s like shaking hands before a game. Nobody wants to do it, and the players you are doing it for don’t care if you do it anyway.
“What is the point of it? You have won the league, everyone recognises you as champions, you get all of the plaudits and things like that.
“We are seeding in this confected respect that isn’t there, and certainly isn’t there between the fans. Nobody sits there from Rangers wishing Celtic well and wanting to respect them. It will be done through gritted teeth.”
Rangers giving Celtic guard of honour would be humiliating
Rangers’ season has already been poor. To be 17 points off Celtic going into the derby is nothing short of embarrassing.
If the club were to give their rivals the guard of honour, it would be completely humiliating.
It’s bad enough for the players to clap on their title rivals after they had ambitions to lift the cup. Yet, to do it to your fiercest rivals would be completely unacceptable.
It would be an embarrassment for everyone associated with the club, and fans would never hear the end of it. Whereas, if the club decided not to do it, they lose nothing.