Barry Ferguson has told his Rangers players to continue celebrating successes in the wake of Vaclav Cerny’s Celtic Park controversy.
The substituted Gers winger caused a stir when he squirted the contents of his water bottle at Hoops fans behind the Light Blues’ dugout when Hamza Igamane scored a dramatic late winner at Parkhead before the international break.
The Czech Republic international’s antics in the 3-2 victory endeared him further to the Gers support already pleased with his contribution since arriving on loan from Wolfsburg at the beginning of the season, although the soaked Celtic fans did not see the funny side with stewards and police having to keep order at the flashpoint.
Interim boss Ferguson said: “The reaction was, he’s excited because his team-mates have scored what was to be the winning goal.
“I would have a problem if my players and my staff sat in their seat and never said a word or done (sic) anything.
“I want to see players and staff celebrate. Why do we play football? We play football to win games.
“And when you win games, I want to see my players, my staff celebrate alongside our supporters. Sometimes you get a wee bit over-excited. I have no issues with that.
“As I said, Vaclav was just over-excited with his team-mate, Hamza, scoring a goal to get us three points.
“We’ve not been able to do that [there] for five years, which is a long, long time.”
There has been talk of a possible probe by police and the Scottish Football Association and Ferguson said: “I’ll let them deal with that.
“I’ve had a private chat with Vaclav. That will remain private.
“One thing I’ve made clear to my players and my staff is when we score, we celebrate.
“And after the game, whether it’s Celtic, whether it’s Fenerbahce, whether it’s St Mirren, whether it’s whoever it is, Dundee, Aberdeen, Hibs, Hearts, if that whistle goes and we’ve won three points, I have no issue with going and celebrating with your fans.
“These guys pay a fortune to travel everywhere and come and support us.
“And I want to see a bit of passion, not just for the stands, but for my players.”
On the issues of fans, Ferguson made clear his desire to see Ibrox full for European games, following sanctions from UEFA relating to their recent Europa League last-16 match at home to Fenerbahce.
The Govan club were found guilty of “racist and/or discriminatory behaviour” after a banner was displayed saying “Keep woke foreign ideologies out – defend Europe”.
Consequently, Rangers have been fined 30,000 euros (£25,000) and given a partial stadium closure, which would involve the Copland stand being closed for a European match, although the punishment has been suspended for two years.
“I saw the statement,” said the former Rangers captain.
“Like everybody, the most important thing for me is that the fans are going to be inside the stadium supporting the team.
“Since I’ve been back, the support that I’ve had from the stands has been brilliant.
“I appreciate it, the staff appreciates it, the players.
“So the most important thing is that we make sure the fans are inside.
“We don’t want to see partial stadium closures or fines. We all get that. I just want to see my supporters getting right behind my team. That’s the most important thing for me.”
