Old Firm violence and silence: What now for Celtic and Rangers?

Police officers and fans were injured as supporters clashed during a pitch invasion following Sunday's Old Firm match at Ibrox.

Celtic beat Rangers on penalties to progress to the Scottish Cup semi-finals but the result was overshadowed by violent scenes following the final whistle.

On Wednesday Chief Constable Jo Farrell, speaking at the Scottish Parliament, said that no-one from either club had come out to condemn the disorder.

But the following day Rangers and Celtic both broke their silence.

After a goalless 120 minutes, Rangers missed two penalties in the shoot out before Celtic striker Tomas Cvancara scored to win the tie.

Celtic fans initially spilled onto the pitch only for Rangers fans to soon join the fracas.

Players from both teams were rushed down the tunnel as more home supporters ran across the pitch to confront the Celtic fans.

Flares were thrown as police and stewards formed a barricade to separate the two groups of supporters.

The disorder quickly settled down with fans returning to the stands but several officers and fans were injured.

Nine people have been arrested in connection with incidents around the violence.

The Scottish Football Association (SFA) issued a statement less than 40 minutes after the match ended, condemning the scenes and an immediate investigation would be carried out.

Both Celtic and Rangers were active on social media in the days following the disorder, but neither club addressed the pitch invasion until Thursday.

Rangers "unequivocally" condemned the fan disorder but said it would not accept a narrative that "ignores the full context of what happened".

The Ibrox club also described the scenes as "unacceptable".

The statement added: "Safety must always come first in football, for supporters, players and everyone working in and around the game."

Rangers also said they were "appalled" to discover graffiti mocking the Ibrox disaster, which claimed the lives of 66 supporters in January 1971.

The statement added: "To desecrate their memory is vile. It is cowardly. It is shameful. This is not football rivalry and it is not banter. It is the abuse of a tragedy that claimed 66 lives."

In Friday's press conference, head coach Danny Rohl said "nobody likes to see" the ugly scenes that marred the match last weekend and that "it should not have happened".

Meanwhile, Celtic interim chairman Brian Wilson said evidence must be provided "before we create a false narrative".

Wilson told Celtic TV: "There were certainly things I would happily condemn and regret.

"What you had was a euphoric response from our supporters - it's not uncommon - where you have an overspill on to the pitch.

"That in itself doesn't normally draw expressions of condemnation.

"If there's evidence of violence or threats of violence, of course I'll condemn that but let's look at the evidence."

Rangers have vowed to represent the club and their supporters "robustly" but said they will take action against anyone identified and convicted.

Celtic are currently involved in a dispute with the Green Brigade due to "safety incidents" involving the fans' group.

An initial six-game ban was imposed on around 200 people in early November following "violent and threatening behaviour" at a home match against Falkirk on 29 October.

But the ban was extended at the start of December due to "safety incidents".

The club said they were awaiting a response from the Green Brigade regarding safety and security measures - as required by the police and Glasgow City Council's Safety Advisory Group - to allow the club "to advocate re-entry" to Celtic Park.

Stuart Murphy, the chief executive of the Scottish Football Fans Association, described the public responses from Celtic and Rangers as "wholly inadequate".

"It's a disappointing state of affairs from a fans' perspective.

"We would have liked to have seen a more robust response to what happened on Sunday," Murphy told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast.

"They fall short of what should have happened and the optics are really poor.

"It is too little, too late. The response from the clubs should have came no later than Tuesday once they had time to let the dust settle."

He said a joint statement that expressed regret would have sent a "positive message" to the football world.

The Rangers Supporters Association and Rangers Fan Advisory Board called for the club to take "robust, decisive and public action in defence on our club" in a statement on Tuesday.

It said it will not apologise for protecting the wellbeing of Rangers fans and will work with the club to ensure it does not happen again.

The Celtic Supporters Association have been approached for comment.

The SFA has launched an independent review of the match safety and security operations for the tie at Ibrox, which has been welcomed by both clubs.

It hopes the review will "ensure no repeat" of what unfolded, which they say "tarnished the image and reputation of the game".

A Police Scotland investigation into vandalism and graffiti and pyrotechnics being thrown within the stadium is also under way.

Speaking at the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday, Chief Constable Jo Farrell said more needed to be done to allow people to attend matches without fearing for their safety.

She described the scenes as "absolutely disgraceful".

The other question surrounds what will happen to away ticket allocations for both Ibrox and Parkhead for future derby matches.

Sunday's Scottish Cup clash marked the first time Celtic supporters had been given the full Broomloan Road Stand allocation at Ibrox since 2018.

Away supporter allocations had been limited to around 800 tickets.

But last year that number rose to 2,500 following a period of no away fans at the fixture.

But police said some of the supporters had entered the Broomloan Stand without tickets, forcing delays to the security operation with turnstiles closed for a time.

The clubs will play once more this season in the Scottish Premiership, with the post-split fixture taking place at Celtic Park.

Given the time it has taken for both clubs to have their say on what happened at Ibrox, there was always going to be added scrutiny when it came.

Statements from the Glasgow clubs are always dissected word for word, but this time, it would be every syllable.

Would there be condemnation, finger pointing or even contrition?

The legal teams at both clubs have been working overtime on these responses - one slip and there is culpability.

Rangers went first and were strongest in their "unequivocal" condemnation of the disorder.

The club made it clear that bans will be handed out to those identified and convicted, while emphasising their disgust at graffiti by Celtic supporters mocking the Ibrox disaster that claimed the lives of 66 people.

Their rivals took a different approach with an in-house interview and statement from interim chairman, Brian Wilson.

He said their needed to be specifics around condemnation and pushed back on the police and stewarding.

The Celtic fans coming onto the pitch was "euphoric celebration", he said, and pointed to this happening before without widespread condemnation.

The issue of the Green Brigade was discussed but that focused more on the club's work to bring them back into the fold following a ban.

It was an overall response that might appease some of the clubs supporters but is unlikely to be viewed as progress by those outside.

Both clubs have the tricky job of being seen to be acting in the best interests of Scottish football, while keeping a sometimes febrile fanbase satisfied that they are fighting their corner.

But some will never be happy in that regard.

In Scottish football it is impossible to reason people out of a position they haven't been reasoned into.

Sanctions will come and life will move on, for some.