Moussa Dembele claimed that Celtic against Rangers was just like Lyon versus St Etienne and Adrian Durham dismissed that idea completely.
The former Hoops forward in an recent interview revealed that he didn’t see too much difference between the two derbies as it was all about two neighbourhoods who don’t like each other.
“There are not really any differences between this derby and the one in Glasgow,” Dembele told Le Foot, as translated by the Daily Record.
“These are two cities or two neighbourhoods that do not like each other, it’s the same impact. To score in a derby is good to enter the history and the heart of the fans.”
Durham addressed Dembele’s claim on Wednesday and said he couldn’t be more wrong, while his co-host Darren Gough shared he thought the forward should brace himself for some negative feedback.
“The former Celtic striker Moussa Dembele said that Celtic-Rangers wasn’t any different to Lyon against St Etienne, and I know that’s a derby but mate you are wrong,” said Durham on talkSPORT (18:38, Wednesday April 24th).
Gough added: “Get ready y’all going to get some Twitter responses on that one Moussa, get ready for it son.”
Durham then took a dig at both sets of supporters over how these remarks could potentially upset them.
“What’s the message? Don’t upset the Old Firm fans,” added Durham.
“It doesn’t matter what you do they will misinterpret what you said to provide some hate.”
OPINION
Dembele is well within his rights to make these remarks about the Old Firm Derby, though it’s hard not to disagree with Durham on this occasion. Celtic and Rangers is one of the best derbies in Europe as there is so much passion that goes into their clashes, that even neutrals gets sucked in. Whereas it’s not often that you hear many neutrals supporters raving about Lyon’s clashes with St Etienne. The two French sides battling may be a big deal to the supporters of their clubs, but aside from that, it’s not a derby spoken about often. As for Durham’s remarks on both Celtic and Rangers fans, he should follow his own advice. He claims the two fan bases tend to misinterpret remarks in order to spew hate, and how can that not being taken in a negative way? Durham said you’re better off not upsetting Old Firm fans, but his remarks are going to do just that.